Take Me Under
by SkyyRyder
Summary: COMPLETED x Jeff Hardy is suspended for the second time after failing another drug test. He goes home, where his best friend tries her best to help him fight his addiction. Will he give in? x JeffxOC // Inspired by 'Giving In' by Adema.
1. Weeding out the Bad

Inspiration from "Giving In" by **Adema**

I was browsing around on one of my favorite author's (CaraMascara, go check her out...) profile and found this as sort of a challenge, and decided to take it up. So in a way this is dedicated to her, because I love reading just about everything she writes!

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**Title: **Take Me Under  
**Author: **Skyy Ryder  
**Rating: **T ... may go up  
**Characters:** Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, Shane Helms, and others. Along with OFC.  
**Pairings:** Eventually Jeff/OC with mention of Jeff/Beth, and perhaps future hookups.  
**Summary:** Jeff Hardy is suspended for the second time after failing another drug test. He goes home, where his best friend tries her best to help him fight his addiction. Will he give in? xxx JeffxOC / Inspired by 'Giving In' by Adema.

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**Take Me Under**_  
Written By Skyy Ryder_

**Chapter 01  
_W_**_eeding out the Bad_

Dark soil and unmanageable weeds were her priority at the moment. The evil green villains that plagued her front yard on one of Cameron's hottest afternoons. The sun beat down on her pale skin, which by June of that summer would be crisp and tan once again, but for now remained a color that resembled lily white.

She barely noticed the familiar onyx colored Corvette that drove past in a speeding frenzy that was until it pulled in to the dirt drive next door to her. She watched as her best friend of twenty-some years pulled in, the car slowing down as he too noticed.

The dark haired woman dropped the tools in her hand and walked the few yards to the driveway next to her own. The person in the Corvette slowly got out of the driver's seat, leaving the vehicle running, but in park.

A pair of dark eyes met a pair of glazed over green ones, she knew that look and it wasn't good. The smile that had once adorned her face slowly slipped away. Her strides towards the man she once knew very well stopped. The man rested his forehead against the roof of the car in a defeated manner.

"Jeff," His name barely slipped out of her mouth, he looked up at her again and she could feel the pain in those eyes. She could feel the pain deep with in just looking at the rainbow haired man before her.

She knew, he could tell as soon as she saw him. She knew what was going on… it was happening again. He cleared his throat and she looked down at her dirty hands, slapping them together and rubbing them on to the back of her denim shorts.

"Nicole, I…" Before he could say anything else a red Corvette pulled up at the end of the street, and a dark brown head popped out, glaring at the green eyed creature that was sulking.

"We need to talk," The dark haired man barked, Nicole looked from one brother to the other and decided that he would talk to her when he was ready, he always did.

She didn't say anything to either man as she turned around and walked back to her side of the property, she kneeled back down picking up her tools and getting back to her work. Her eyes lifted slowly to watch both men get in to the cars and drive the long distance up to the all-too-familiar house.

Sitting back on her heels, the woman sighed, this wasn't good at all. She decided. Using her forearm to wipe at the sweat that was glistening on her forehead she stared at the drive way again, wondering what had tripped him up this time.

What pushed him to the brink?

Jeff slammed his car door closed as he pulled his keys out and heard his older brother do the same. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Matt right now, he wasn't in the right state of mind for this lecture that he knew was coming.

Unlocking the door, he left the door open for his brother whom he knew was on his heels. The door slammed behind him as he walked in to the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and offered one to his dark haired brother.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Matt asked denying the beer that was offered to him.

"You know, Matt, I really don't feel like talking about it… OK?" He stated running a hand through his blue, red and green hair.

"Why not?" Matt asked angry. "You have no problem doing _it_, but you can't talk about _it_?" Matt got right in to his brother's face. Both had well defined features, their noses pinched at the end, which were now just centimeters apart.

"Get out of my face, Matt…" Jeff stated he didn't want to be rude or mean to his brother; let alone hostile, but he was not in the mood to be hassled about his _problem_.

"I'm your brother Jeff; you should be able to tell me anything…" Matt stated, his dark brown eyes showing his concern as he spoke to his younger brother.

"Look, Matt… I'm not ready to talk ok?" He stated as he chugged down the rest of his beer. "I'll talk when I'm ready…" He mused before leaving the kitchen, and leaving his brother speechless in the kitchen.

Matt was leaving his brother's house defeated when he noticed the younger woman that was wedding outside of her house. Matt pulled in to her drive and exited the red Corvette. A pensive look placed itself on his face as he watched his brother's very close friend walk over to him.

Her, obviously dyed, black hair was pulled in to a messy bun on the top of her head, her hands were dirty, her knees red from kneeling on the pavement that surrounded her well-groomed yard. Matt stuffed his hands in his pocket and she lifted her chin to her front door.

Without a second look Matt was walking up to her house, she placed her tools away and followed the eldest Hardy brother in to her home. She sighed feeling the cool air hit her face.

"What is it this time, Matt?" She asked him as he poured her a glass of water.

"I know but I don't know…" Matt stated calmly. "He won't talk to me right now."

"You know Jeff, sometimes he needs time to think things out before he comes out and says them…" The woman stated taking a sip of the ice-cold beverage. "What do you know?" She asked.

"He failed his second drug test, and he's suspended for sixty days…" Matt stated carefully.

"Again?" She whispered, knowing in her gut that it was the truth.

What she had previously thought was correct. He had slipped back in to the whole, he let it take him under again. She pursed her lips together and watched as the older man sipped at his water. They stood in silence, neither knowing what they could do next.

"I don't know what else to do Nicki," Matt sighed, pushing a hand through his curly dark brown hair.

"We can't help him unless he wants to be helped…" She stated carefully.

"I think I know what pushed him this time," Matt stated solemnly, remembering the last civil conversation he had with his baby brother.

"What?" She asked placing her glass down on the island, "What happened Matt?" Her eyebrows rose wondering what was going on.

"Beth, she left him… for good this time…" Matt swallowed hard at the news.

"You're kidding; she hasn't said anything to me…" Nicole commented feeling her face flush with anger. "Why?"

"He didn't say, he was just absolutely devastated by it…" Matt stated. "He tried to win her back, tried to work it out, but she refused. She packed up all her things and left last week."

"I didn't even ask questions…" Nicole stated as brown eyes locked with brown eyes.

"You didn't know .how could you?" Matt stated. "You've got your own life to lead still, without worrying about Beth and Jeff's problems…"

"But she's supposed to be my friend, he's supposed to be my best friend, and neither of them told me about it…" Her brows slammed together in dissatisfaction.

"He'll tell you when he feels that you need to know," Matt pursed his lips together. "He told me he'd come to me when he's ready to talk,"

Nicole sighed and rubbed her temples, Jeff did this to her. He drove her to the absolute brink of insanity sometimes. She worried about him like she was his mother, sometimes she felt more like his mother than his best friend.

"I leave tomorrow, for a house show in Fayetteville, I'll be back on Saturday, but leaving again Sunday night…"Matt stated. "If you hear anything, let me know, ok?"

"Do you know if he's talked to Shan?" Nicole questioned.

"Not as far as I know, but I'll ask him tonight, he's coming over for poker… you're more than welcome to stop by if you want…" He stated with a grin in her direction.

"We'll see…" Nicole stated as the eldest Hardy Boy saw himself out.

Nicole watched him leave the house, the rev of the engine and the screeching of the tires as he took off. A small smile appeared on her face; it was nice having the boys back home for awhile, though she was sorry that for Jeff, it was under these circumstances.

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Well, let me know what you think... R&R!


	2. Burning

_I've gotten a delightful response on this one, and I really appreciate it. What happened to Jeff after his suspension was absolutely heartbreaking. Losing an animal to some is like losing a family member, and I tread softly over the subject._

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**Chapter 02**_**  
B**__urning_

Nicole found herself in the shower when a knock came at the door. She turned the water off, waiting for the wrap one more time before exiting. She wrapped the large terry cloth towel around her wet frame and walked to the front door.

Looking through the peep hole she was shocked to see who was on the other side, Jeff Hardy. She hadn't expected him to come over so soon. Was he really ready to talk to her about what happened?

Holding the towel closer to her frame she opened the door slowly, seeing those same glazed over green wolf-like eyes. She stepped aside as he let himself in. Usually, he wouldn't bother knocking, he would just walk in or use his spare key, but in times like these he knocked.

"I came at a bad time?" It was meant as a statement rather than a question.

"It's ok; I was just finishing up…" She shifted her weight uncomfortably as those same eyes wandered over her half-naked body. "Let me go put some clothes on, make yourself at home…" She stated before hurrying off to the master suite of the house.

Resting her head back on the door as she closed it, she shut her eyes tightly. There was something about Jeff Hardy that made her entire body quiver. She wasn't sure if it was his scent, those eyes, that body, or just his demeanor, but something just drove her to the edge.

She wouldn't deny the fact that she had always had feelings for him, more than friends. And Jeff had always shown interest in her; however, their timing couldn't be more off.

Taking a few deep breaths she pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a t-shirt. Slipping her wet hair in to a pony tail she stepped out of the bedroom feeling a bit fresher and less flustered.

Nicole found Jeff sitting on her couch with two cups of steaming hot liquid, a small smile found it's way to her lips when she took the cup in her grasp. She took a delightful sip and let a small smile spread across her lips.

"What's up?" She asked him calmly as possible.

"I got suspended, again…" Jeff sighed letting his head rest in his hands as he sat forward on her plush suede couch.

"What happened?" She asked him, knowing fully well that he failed another drug test, who question was more of a why did it happen.

"Beth and I…" Jeff swallowed and looked up at Nicole. "It's over… for good…" he stated with a sad smile. "I shoulda seen it comin',"

"Then why did you let this happen?" She asked him carefully, questions were brewing inside of her and she didn't know where to start.

"I didn't _let_ anythin' happen," Jeff stated aggravated as his eyes pierced up at her.

"You did," She directed. "You let this get a hold of you again Jeffrey," She pointed out angrily. "You let it suck you back in like some disease,"

"What'd you expect me to do, Nic?" Jeff asked standing up roughly.

"I expected you to be stronger than this Jeff," She looked up at him with sad hurtful eyes. "I expected more from you than going over the brink again because you and Beth got in to it again… you can turn back to it every fucking time…" She yelled at him.

"She's my ev'r'thing… and you know that…" Jeff pointed at her bitterly.

"She's your excuse for everything," Nicole bit back angrily.

Seeing the hurt fill his green eyes made her take a step back. She cleared her head; she didn't need to be arguing with him. She should be trying to comfort him, trying to help him. Jeff stared at her harshly before storming out of her living room and out of her house.

Defeated, Nicole fell back down in to the couch, feeling her emotions get the best of her. She hated fighting with Jeff, but he let this addiction he had control him. He let it control the person he was, and she didn't like that at all.

"You're losing yourself…" She whispered watching his frame cut through the woods that separated their homes.

She watched him making sure he made it through the sharp bushes and tall trees, when she couldn't see his frame any longer she walked in to the kitchen when the phone began ringing off of the hook. Groaning inwardly she picked up the piece of technology and glanced at the caller ID.

_Hardy, Matthew Moore_

She clicked the talk button and answered her tone completely depressing.

"What's wrong Nicki? Did you talk to Jeff" He asked her carefully, treading over the subject carefully.

"He came over to talk," She swallowed and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. "We fought, and he left pissed off at me…"

"I should be expectin' a call, huh?" The older man asked her.

"Maybe so, he might need to blow off some steam first…" She scratched her head.

"Invite it still out for poker at my house…" Matt stated strategically.

"After the whoopin' I gave you boys last time, you still want me to come over and play?" She asked with a sly grin on her face.

"That was a fluke, what'd'ya say little sister?" Matt grinned on the other line.

"Sure, it'll get my mind off of your retarded brother…" She quipped placing her beer down on the counter. "Seven?" She questioned.

"Yes'um,"

Without a goodbye the two parties hung up. Nicole leaned against the granite counter tops and wondered what had just transpired between her and Jeff. They usually fought about this, but she was never so harsh to him. She tried to be sympathetic with his needs.

_But it's not working_, she thought tapping her chin thoughtfully. _Perhaps it was a good thing; he'll realize on his own that this isn't a game anymore._

"It's not a game, it's his life…" She whispered before leaving the beer on the counter and walking back to her room.

She grabbed a dark blue hoodie that had the Adidas symbol on the front of it, and slipped in to a pair of Chuck Taylors. Nicole picked up her car keys and her purse before going back in to the kitchen and finishing her beer.

She left the bottle in the sink as she climbed in to her Prius and headed the several short miles to Matt's house. She had noticed Jeff's car was gone but didn't think much of it. She parked her car in Matt's drive way and noticed Shannon's Hummer and Shane's Jeep were parked out front with several other familiar cars.

Trying to let go of her negative energy, Nicole walked in to the house, being greeted by a huge hug from two larger men. She smiled hugging them back and knocked knuckles with the eldest Hardy. He handed her a beer and lifted his chin to the men that scattered the living room.

"Nicki, you remember Terry and Jimmy, right?" He pointed to the two men in the living room.

"Of course, nice to see you guys again," Nicole smiled as she looked from the three men in front of her. Her gaze rested on the blonde for a moment and he took her hand leading her in to the large kitchen.

"Matt told me about what happened, you ok?" He asked carefully.

"I'm fine Shan; I'm just kinda hurt, that he let it happen again…" She forced a small smile. "We worked so hard last time," She pointed out.

"I know, we all did, especially you…" The man stated shaking his head. "I'm sorry you're having to go through this…"

Nicole shook her head, "Look Shannon, I say we push it out of our minds, and go kick some ass in poker…" She forced that smile back on to her face and Shannon grinned at her.

"You're incredible…" He stated with a laugh.

"That's what they tell me," She winked at him before heading in to the back room to join the rest of the group to start playing cards.

Halfway through the night, Matt's front door opened and the dark haired man put his beer down his brow furrowed in confusion. He heard someone calling his name and Matt ran to the front name. Nicole stood up noticing that voice from anywhere; it was Gilbert Hardy, the Hardy's father.

She, Shannon and Shane walked in to the living room to see Gil talking to his son with a worried expression on his face. Nicole walked up to them and asked what was going on; the look on Matt's face gave it away.

"It's Jeff, isn't it?" She asked worriedly.

"Nicki," Gil tried to even out his tone, the worry was shining through like the sun on a cloudy day. She swallowed hard and glanced back at Shannon who looked just as worried. "I've tried calling him he won't answer…"

Nicki took out her cell phone and dialed her speed dial two and waited, it went straight to voicemail. "You don't think something happened to him do you?" She asked.

Terry and Jimmy walked in to the room and Nicki pulled the two Hardy's outside to talk about this. She knew where Jeff ran off too when he was pissed or upset, but she didn't want to say it in front of everyone else.

"Holy shit," Matt's eyes were focused on something in the distance.

"Matt," Nicki was about to say something else when she followed his gaze.

From Matt's house they had a perfect view down the curving hills to see the top of Jeff's property. Her eyes grew wide at the sight, smoke rising from the top of the house, part of the house was engulfed in flames. Nicole could feel her stomach rise to her throat at the sight of this.

"Let's get down there…" She stated running to her car and grabbing her spare key out of the console. Matt was right on her tail with Gilbert, Shannon, Shane, Terry and Jimmy. The group rushed down the road to the house.

Stepping on to the property they found that it was too late. They could do nothing more than watch Jeff Hardy's house burn to the ground. Matt had called the Fire Station on his way down, they had been there for about a half hour trying to settle the flame.

"You don't think he did this, do you?" Shane asked carefully as he stepped behind Matt and Nicole who were hugging closely.

"Jeff?" Matt shook his head at Shane. "No way, there is no way he would do this…"

"I have to go find him," Nicole sniffed, she used the large sleeve of the hoodie adorning her frame to wipe the tears away.

"Do you know where to find him?" Gil asked uncomfortably.

"I know exactly where to find him," She whispered going back to her car and driving the distance from the younger Hardy's house to his 'secret spot'.

Nicole was surprised that Matt and Gil didn't know where to find him. The 'secret spot' was located on Gil's property. Back in the disclosed area where they used to practice their wrestling moves on a tattered old trampoline. Jeff would go there to think, he would go there to relax, and most of all he would go there to get away.

She pushed through some overgrown bushes and found him lying on the ground staring up at the evening sky. She tried to be quiet, tried to make him think she wasn't there. But she knew better, and so did he.

"It's ironic, don't you think?" His voice was low and almost no sign of his southern accent showed.

"Quoting Alanis…" She cleared her throat, walking over to him with her hands behind her back.

"When did it start?" Jeff didn't move from his spot, he just laid there completely still, blinking and talking were the only movements.

"We've been there for about an hour, the fire department think it's been going on for two or more hours…" She whispered standing by his body now.

Jeff sat up, and she offered him her hand. He took it and she lifted him off of the ground. She looked around and didn't see his Corvette anywhere. She dragged him out of the woods without another word.

"Where's your car?" She asked him.

"I parked on the other side of dad's property…" His voice was so monotone, so sad that it broke Nicole's heart.

She opened the passenger door to her car and pushed him towards it before getting in herself and driving back up to where his house used to be. Gil and Matt rushed to Jeff's side as he stared up at the smoking house before him.

Nicole felt a new sting of tears hit her eyes as Jeff walked, almost like a zombie up to the charcoaled house. There was a sharp pang to her heart as he touched where the door frame stood at one point, and he looked around as fire fighters and rescuers swarmed around the house.

"Mr. Hardy?" A man came up to him, Jeff turned to him a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Yes?" He nodded simply, he barely blinked as the man told him that there were no other people in the house, however, his dog… Jack… did not make it. Jeff felt an overwhelming amount of sorrow crash over him at that very moment. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Positive sir, he wasn't able to make it out of the house," The fireman stated as he looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry for your loss,"

Jeff stared up at the house, feeling the hot tears streaming his face as he felt her presence behind him. He turned around and looked in to those dark brown eyes and she pulled him close against her chest. Their fight didn't matter right now. He needed her, and at that moment, that's all that mattered.

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_Remember to R&R! And perhaps I'll give you a cookie ;)_


	3. Inked Heart

**I'm loving the response this is getting; I'm really excited. So enjoy the next chapter!**

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**Chapter 03**_**  
I**__nked Heart_

Matt offered his guest room to Jeff, who appreciatively took the invite. Nicole hadn't seen him since that day and he had only called her once, but she had been in the shower. It was now Monday and she was getting concerned. She decided to go see him before leaving for work.

Parking her car she saw the black Corvette parked next to the matching Red one and smiled, the two men were close, closer than most brothers. That was something she always admired about them, it always made her want a sibling, but she did have siblings… both of these men were like brothers to her.

She waited for someone to answer the door, after her second knock the door swung open and Jeff appeared at the door. The dye was fading out of his blonde locks, and looked rather dull, his face was red and puffy from his obvious crying and his close were disheveled.

This was not Jeff Hardy standing in front of her, not the same care-free, fun-loving man that she grew up with. There was no way that he was the same person. He moved aside so that she could come in to the house, and she did so not saying a word.

Jeff closed the door and trudged in to the kitchen, offering her a beverage, she accepted a bottled water. Nicole leaned against the granite counter tops and looked at him intently.

"How are you holding up?" She asked him.

"Fine." His response was dry.

"I'm sorry about what happened Jeff, I know that it's hard… ok?" She tried to reason with him. "This was absolutely devastating, and on top of that you're suspended…" She cleared her throat.

"And I have no girlfriend… AND my brother hates me… and my father is disappointed in me… and my best friends barely talk to me…" Jeff ranted as he walked past her in to the living room.

"Jeff, Matt does not hate you… if he hated you he would not have offered for you to stay with him…" The dark haired woman followed him out in to the living room watching as he solemnly sat on the couch and turned on the TV.

Ignorance, this was his defense mechanism. She glared at him, snatching the remote from his grasp she turned the TV off, his stare was intense and she could feel him trying to read her. Trying to read her face, she put on her best poker face and stared right back trying to do the same.

"You're not going to push me away Jeffrey," She told him. "I care about you too much to see you go down in flames…" She pointed out, trying to avoid the pun, but not being able to find a better way to say it.

"This is my life Nic, don't drag yourself in to it…" He rolled his green eyes.

"That's where you're wrong Jeff…" She stood now, in front of him, her hands on her narrow hips. "This is our life…" She looked around the room, her hands up in the air now. "All of us… you're a part of our lives… we were dragged in to this the moment we became friends… the minute you were born you were dragged in to Matt's life…" She fought back.

"I'm sick of this," Jeff jumped off of the couch and was in her face. "I'm sick of the WWE, I'm sick of hearin' from Beth how my job is more important than her, I'm sick of hearin' Matt bitch at me for every fuckin' thin' I do…" Jeff was yelling now, in her face, those wolf-like eyes narrowed in on her. "I'm sick of YOU and Shannon tryin' to FIX everythin'… nothin' is fuckin' broken Nic, nothin'… so stop tryin' to shrink me" He stormed up the steps, up to the spare room, slamming the door shut.

She felt the tears welling in her eyes as she stared up at the stairs, knowing that now he was going to do it. He was going to fall back in to that black hole again. She stood by the front door for a few minutes, hoping that she was wrong. Hoping that she would see the door open and that he would come down and apologize.

She wasn't naïve. She wasn't stupid. She was just hopeful.

After a few minutes, she slammed the front door behind her and got in her car heading in to the city to the shop. Glaring back at the house in her rearview mirror, she realized that she had to take a new route this time. She had to try something different for a change.

_Instead of going to him, making him better… you have to let him do it himself. _She thought pulling up to the shop. She glanced up at the letters at the top and grinned, Gas Chamber Ink.

"Another day," She whispered.

They had been unbelievably busy as soon as they opened, they were booked with clients well in to July. People everywhere wanted to get tattooed in Shannon Moore's tattoo shop, and as soon as he made it known, the entire world wanted in.

She walked in to the shop and glanced over at the waiting area, there were already two voluptuous blonde's waiting looking through the books of tats and gossiping. Rolling her eyes she walked back in to the back where Shannon was in his office; and several of the other guys were chatting.

"Who's bimbos?" She smirked putting her bag down.

"Oh, those would be mine…" Chad grinned as he looked over at Shane with a knowing grin.

"They ain't here for you bubba," The newest member of the team smirked as she pushed her jet black hair out of her face.

"We all know who they're here for…" Shane Watkins smirked rolling his eyes and glancing over at Shannon who shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm a very wanted man, what can I say?" Shannon asked lifting his chin to the door for the other three artists to give him and Nicole a minute alone. As soon as they left Nicole sat down. "You saw Jeff, didn't you?"

Nicole smiled and shook her head, "Tell me why we didn't stay together again?" She asked sarcastically.

Nicole and Shannon had dated for a while before he married his ex-wife. They were good together, but something was off, and they both knew it. The break-up was mutual, but they still teased each other about it mercilessly.

"You were undeniably in love with our best friend?" He questioned raising an eyebrow. "Yep, I think that was it…" He pointed out.

"Whatever," She laughed. "Yeah, I saw him this morning… went over to Matt's before coming here…" She looked down at her hands and shook her head.

"Didn't go good?" Shan asked rubbing his chin.

"Not at all, he pretty much told me to leave him the fuck alone…" She stated looking up at him. "You too…" She added for shits-and-giggles.

"Well fuck, I get raped and wasn't even there…" He muttered.

"I just decided that maybe he's right… all these other times we've been shoving help down his throat, and he just keeps slipping back… maybe we _do_ need to back off…" She suggested.

"I'll go over to Matt's tonight, feel it out and let you know what I think before I head out of town tonight…" He stated running a hand through his blonde locks.

"When you going to be back in town again?" she asked him.

"I'll be in and out briefly on Saturday, you scheduled?" He glanced over at the calendar that hung from the dark blue wall.

"Yeah, I have two huge jobs…" She stated looking over at her 'boss'.

"Oh?" Shannon arched an eyebrow at her.

"A three hour and a four hour…" She sighed. "I'll be as good as dead on Sunday,"

Shannon grinned and stood up as she walked out on to the checkered floor. Sitting in her chair she watched as Chad and Shane each took one of the blondes that were sitting down earlier. Tanya was checking her make-up in the mirror and Shannon was walking towards her.

"Oh my god, it's him…" One of the blondes whispered to her friend.

Shane rolled his eyes as he directed the girl in to his room, Shannon smirked as Chad instructed the other girl to take a seat, he walked in to her room and looked around at the pictures, and illustrations on the wall. Several of the sheets in here Jeff, Shannon or Nicole had drawn, while others were the normal prints of the more popular tattoos.

His green eyes settled on her Gas Chamber Ink shirt that she had kindly taken in to her own hands. The black shirt was altered to form a halter top that tied in the back, and had a plunging neckline in to the saying that was on the front, 'Tattooed and Don't Give a Fuck'.

"Love the merchandise…" He stated simply pointing to the shirt.

"Great way to advertise," She lifted her eyebrows with a playful grin on her face.

"Plans for lunch?" He asked.

"I do now," She turned back to her station and pulled out a few things for her day.

Shannon looked up at the ceiling and headed back to his office; he rarely had to come in because the group around him was pretty damn good about keeping the shop in running order. Especially with the shop manager 'D' around and up everyone's ass.

Truth was he just loved the atmosphere; any time off he came home to spend in his shop, thinking of new ways to make his shop one of the top Ink spots. It didn't hurt that he got to see Nicole every'time he came in as well.

There was something about her, that even after all their years apart from their relationship, but still together because of their friendship, he could never totally breakaway. He knew that her feelings for Jeff were deeper than anything she had felt for him; but Jeff had been with Beth for eleven years, off and on, and their lives never crossed paths during that time.

_It was always Jeff that got everything_, Shannon thought to himself. He sounded almost bitter, but it was the truth. Jeff got in to the WWE before he did, he hit it big before he did… but now… now Shannon was starting to make a name for himself.

And he loved every minute of it.

Nicole finished up with her last scheduled client and sent them off, with a beautiful new tattoo. Most of her clients were regulars, people who had multiple tattoos and weren't here to stare at Shannon. She liked it that way. She didn't like the girls that flooded in here just to see if they could catch a glimpse at the WWE Superstar.

Those types of clients were here for the silly flower tattoos, the kanji writing, or even the tramp stamps. The entire time during the session asking Nicole if she knew Shannon personally, if they were friends, or asking if he was single. Rolling her brown eyes she put away her tools and threw out the used materials. She washed her hands and took a step out of her room.

"Long day?" Chad questioned fixing his black cap.

"Exceedingly, yes…" She confirmed, Shannon walked out of the back room with a soda in hand for each of his artists.

"So where'd you two go for lunch?" Tanya asked smirking at the two.

Shannon looked at her and rolled his eyes, "As if it's any of your business Tiz…" The girl smirked and looked over at Nicole.

"I plead the fifth," She laughed popping open the top of the Pepsi Shannon had handed her. She took a swig and smiled at Shannon, Chad and Shane who all laughed at Tizzie. For being the new girl she liked to be in everyone's business, and the guys picked on her about it all the time.

"Fuck you, both…" She stated promptly opening her Sprite.

"They've been there and done that… ages ago…" Chad grinned as Shannon glared at him.

"Chad, really… do you have to tell the whole shop about our personal lives?" Nicole took a seat where D usually sat.

"Like it isn't common knowledge, it's probably all over Shannon's wikipedia page…" Shane grinned as he sat down in one of the many chairs accenting the floor.

"No, it's not…" Shannon shook his head laughing.

"Thank god, I don't want it to ruin my reputation," Nicole grinned over at the light haired man.

Tanya glanced over at Shannon and then back at Nicole, "Are you fuckin' serious?" She asked her dark brown eyes looking at them shocked. "I thought there was some sexual tension there…"

"Can we change the subject please?" Nicki asked rolling her eyes.

Just as they started arguing about the subject the door opened and everyone got quiet, Shannon looked up to see a customer and smirked at Nicole before welcoming them to Gas Chamber Ink. Nicole pushed through the group and introduced herself to the person, who looked a bit eager to get a tattoo.

As soon as she started talking to the man she got a feel of what he was like, he was twenty years old, never gotten a tattoo, and he had been pressured by his friends to get one. She tried to see what he liked and to see if she could help him find something, and gave him a few books and sleeves to look through.

"I'll be at the front desk if you need me," She pointed to the desk and he smiled and thanked her.

"You're so good with the newbs…" Chad groaned looking over at her. "I can't stand them, they're so nervous and shake and talk too much… I can never concentrate…"

"And that's why you suck," Nicole stated going back to her Pepsi.

Nicole finished her soda and went back to her station, preparing her tools and walked back out to talk to the younger man. He told her that he wanted something like the picture he was pointing to, but he wanted it to be different, he wanted something no one else had.

Nicole talked about changing some details, and some colors and the kid was really interested. She walked him back to her room and they scheduled an appointment in two days for the beginning process. He thanked her for her help and left.

"You were pretty cozy with that one," Shane inspected as he stole her previous seat.

"Just making him feel comfortable…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Cute kid though," She grinned glancing over at Shannon who rolled his light green eyes.

Tanya yawned and glanced up at the clock, "Look at the time," She grinned. "Dinner, anyone?" She asked.

"Rain check…" Nicole stated as she put away her tools, and cleaned up her station. "I've got to get a head start on this and two others, busy night…"

"Guys?" Tanya looked at the three gentleman.

"Sorry Tiz, got to pack… back on the road tomorrow…" Shannon stated lifting his hands up in the air.

Shane and Chad agreed and they all left and locked up the store. Shannon stopped Nicole from getting in to her Prius. Stuffing his hands in his pocket he asked her if she wanted to go to dinner with him tonight.

"Like I told Tizzie, I've got a lot to do tonight…" She stated holding up her files.

"Fine, I'll bring dinner to you then," He stated a smirk crossing over his lips.

"Shannon, what's going on?" She asked him seriously. "First lunch, now dinner?" She asked.

"We're friends aren't we?" He asked her.

"Of course we are…" She shook her head.

"Friends have lunch and dinner together," He pointed out.

"They do, but…"

"But nothing, I'll be over in an hour with dinner…" He stated giving her a peck on the cheek before climbing in to his Hummer and taking off.

Pushing her dark hair out of her face Nicole slipped off her black rimmed glasses and set them on the table. She had taken out her contacts and was relying on the god-awful bottle-cap glasses to draw the design before her. Pinching the bridge of her nose she skillfully brushed the edge of her pencil over the paper.

Her concentration was interrupted by a pounding on the door, rolling her eyes she yelled for them to come in, but the pounding continued. She slammed her fists in to the carpet and got up in a huff. She threw the door open and glared at the person on the other side with an evil look, thinking it was Shannon.

Her glare softened when she saw Jeff on the other side, she stepped aside and wondered why he didn't come in when she shouted. He stepped in, his hands were now in his pockets and his dark green eyes searched the perimeter.

"Jeff, what are you doing here?" She asked him.

He gave her a short glance and walked in to the kitchen, helping himself to a beer. He opened the bottle and took a long swig before turning to look at her. She could tell that he wasn't all there. He had fed his addiction, and his eyes were telling her this.

"Why are you here?" She asked him again.

"All of a sudden it's a crime to come see my best friend?" He asked carefully as he took another swig of his drink.

"Of course not, Jeff… but you pretty much told me, in not so many words this morning, to go fuck off…" She stated her eyes never leaving his.

"I wasn't in my right mind," He stated tossing back the rest of the beer.

"You're not in your right mind now,"

Jeff looked at her sharply, he was about to open his mouth when he noticed the front door swing open and a shorter blonde walked through the door. His arms were full of bags and a smile on his face.

"Honey, I'm home…" Shannon's voice was cheerful as he looked around and noticed Jeff in the kitchen. "Hey man, I didn't see your car…" He pointed back to the door.

"I didn't know he was coming…" Jeff stated as he glanced over at Nicole.

"We were going to have dinner," Shannon stated putting the food down.

Nicole watched as Jeff's jaw clenched, something like a spark flickered in his eyes as he leaned forward on to the island. He glared at Shannon and then his gaze settled on Nicole who looked completely uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" Jeff demanded.

"Nothing," Nicole insisted.

"It sure doesn't seem like _nothing_,"

"Dude, what is your deal?" Shannon asked wondering what had his best friend on edge. He came over to have dinner with a friend, was that such a crime?

Sure, Shannon had ulterior motives, but at this point they weren't known, and especially not to Jeff Hardy. Jeff rolled his eyes as Nicole explained how this came about. When she finished explaining Shannon watched his best friend's attitude change again.

"There's plenty if you want to stay," Shannon offered.

"Don't let me ruin your _date_," Jeff growled as he stormed out of the house and back up the road to his brother's house.

"Date?" Nicole muttered defeated. "Why would he think this was a date?"

"Why not?" Shannon asked unpacking the food with a sly grin.

"Shan, c'mon…" Nicole shoved him and went in to the living room; she peered out of the window and noticed Jeff climbing the hill back up to his brother's house. "He walked," She groaned.

"I thought the deal was to butt out?" Shannon asked walking over to her, his hands on his hips.

"It was, but he came here…" She pointed to her floor. "He was on something though, Shannon… he's not stopping…" She bit her bottom lip as Shannon walked over to her; he pulled her face in to his hands and looked her dead in the eye.

"He has to want to quit; to do it…" Shannon's voice was soft, and calmed her to the core. "You can't force it down his throat anymore, Nicki…"

"I know," She agreed with him. Shannon brushed his thumbs over her cheeks and she looked at him sadly. She didn't know why it bothered her so much about what was going on with Jeff. Shannon could see it in her eyes and sighed.

"You love him," He answered her internal struggle for her. "You love him more than you ever have, and it kills you to see him like this… to see him slowly giving in to his addictions…"

Nicole didn't argue, she stared at Shannon and looked back at Shannon, she knew that he cared for her. He always had, but she couldn't return that to him fully, she couldn't give him her all, even if she wanted to. Jeff Hardy held a huge part of who she was.

"I'm sorry…" She felt her heart tug sadly as Shannon pulled her in to a tight hug.

He pulled her away at arms length and smirked, "C'mon lets go eat…" He offered with a genuine smile.

Nicole agreed and followed him in to the kitchen, though thoughts of Jeff still plagued her mind. She tried to keep a focused state of mind on what was going on. She spent time with Shannon before he went back on the road with Smackdown, and working on her next few clients new artwork.

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	4. Maybe She Was Right

**Thank you for the great response on this story! I really appreciate it! Here is the next chapter, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 04**_**  
M**__aybe She Was Right_

Three days. It had been exactly three days since she had last talked to Jeff. Since he stormed out of her house pissed at her, and at Shannon. She wanted to give him his space, give him time to figure this out, before she made a move.

She had called him though, several times. She looked at her cell phone and thought one more time, just once more. Maybe he would answer.

Picking up the silver piece of technology she dialed his number from memory and waited for it to ring. After one ring it went straight to voicemail, he was ignoring her phone calls. Her heart fell heavy as she left him her sixth or seventh voicemail.

"_Hey Jeff, it's me…" She glanced over at the blender sitting on the island. "It's me… I was hoping that you'd answer this time. I think we really need to talk. What you saw the other night wasn't what you thought it was… I'm sorry you got the wrong impression. I'd really like to talk to you, call me."_

Hanging up the phone she decided to finish her smoothie. Pressing the button she held the lid down tightly, her thoughts plagued with Jeff Hardy. The sound of the blender going was almost enough to drown out her thoughts, but not quite enough.

She poured her smoothie in to a glass and grabbed her things, she had a long day ahead of her and she couldn't wait to get it over with. It seemed as thought her days were getting longer, she tried her best to keep herself busy enough to where she would be going to work early and leaving late, and working on new tattoo designs until she went to bed.

Arriving at Gas Chamber Ink she noticed D opening up shop. He glanced over to see her getting out of the Prius and quirked an eyebrow up at her in interest.

"You're here early, Nicki…" He stated as she walked in to the shop holding her files to her chest. She tossed him a bemused look and he put his hands up in defense, "What's going on? Trouble in paradise?" He asked.

"What paradise?"

"I heard you and Shan went out for lunch the other day…" D inquired.

"People in this shop have really big mouths…" She concluded. "But yes we did go out for lunch but just as friends,"

"Well then what's going on sister?" D asked.

"Nothing," She lied.

"Jeff?" D asked.

"How do you do that?" She asked making light of the situation by smiling at him.

"Years of practice, and four sisters…" He stated with a grin.

"Well I'm going to be in Shan's office…. My first client isn't in until 10…" She stated before heading back to Shannon's office.

She kept herself back there until D came knocking at the door, she looked up from her sketch and raised an eyebrow. She glanced at the clock and it was only 9. D closed the door behind him and waited for her to stop sketching.

"What's up D?" She asked.

"Well, Chad just called in and he's not going to be able to make it in until 2," He cleared his throat. "And his 9 o'clock is here…"

"Tell them to come back," She stated knowing that Chad didn't like anyone else working on his clients, and she didn't like working on most of his clients.

"They requested you," D stated. "It's just a touch-up…"

Nicole rolled her eyes and left her work sprawled out on the desk, she followed D out in to the waiting room and a crooked smile appeared on her lips as the person turned around. She rolled her eyes and walked over towards the man.

"What's going on Phil?" She asked looking the WWe Superstar up and down.

"Well, my artist wigged out on me, so I had to get the next best thing…" He grinned.

"Sure, what's going on?" She asked looking over at D and silently telling him to hold off on her 10 o'clock. She led him back to her room and he took a seat.

"Not much, just have a couple of days off… you?"

"Same ol'…" She shrugged getting her area ready as she continued to talk to him. Phil had come in shortly after Shannon opened the shop and got some work done by Chad, and fell in love with him as an artist. He had come back several times and because of Shannon became acquainted with Nicole.

"How's uh… how's Jeff?" Phil questioned knowing that it was probably a sore subject.

"Well, he's not doing great… but then again he hasn't talked to me in three days…" She stated watching him take off his shirt.

She was only woman after all. Seeing a man, a very handsome man take off his shirt and show off his spectacular build, it took all she had not to drool. Her eyes fixated on the new work that Chad had been doing and nodded.

"Fabulous piece," She remarked taking out the black and white, all that was missing was the shading. Something that was easy enough she could do without taking away from Chad's vision.

"Thanks, I had it in my head, but Chad just hit it right on the head with this one…" Phil stated with a grin. "I'm real happy about how it came out…"

"I don't blame you,"

She started in on the shading, and touched up some of the areas around it. After about an hour and a half she was finished, and their conversation had drifted back to Jeff. She looked up at Phil and those eyes caught her for a second, deep pools of hazel stared at her for a moment.

"Do you think he'll get through it this time? I mean, with everything that happened when he got back?"

Hell, news traveled fast around the locker rooms. Granted that the news about Jeff's house was all over the news, but she knew he was leaning more towards the break-up between Jeff and his long-time girlfriend Beth.

"I don't know Phil…" She told him placing the plastic over his tattoo, and grabbing the piece of tape carefully applying them to his freshly tat'd skin. "I hope so," She stated giving him a forced smile.

Phil nodded his head and as they were leaving her studio he offered to take her out to lunch. She looked at her 10 o'clock and glanced over at D. She held up a finger before checking her schedule, she was clear after her 10 o'clock until 2.

"Sure, I have a 10 o'clock, but I should be finished with him in about an hour and a half…" She stated glancing over at the person sitting around and staring at the two.

"I'll pick you up," Phil grinned before tossing her a sly grin.

Nicole smiled before saying goodbye to him and welcoming and apologizing to her 10 o'clock. She finished up with him within an hour and thirty minutes, and heard the front door open. She had heard it open quite a few times today, but this one was different.

Was she really about to go to lunch with Phil Brooks? She thought to herself_, just as friends_. Her mind laughed at the thought. She had enough on her mind now with the Shannon and Jeff thing, why would she want to add more fuel to the fire.

She thanked her client, as he paid her for their session and she cleaned up her room. Hearing a light tap on the frame she turned around much expecting to see Phil, but was more surprised to see the rainbow-haired warrior that had been plaguing her mind since… forever.

"Jeff! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," He stated carefully taking a seat on the bench in her room.

"Why don't we go in Shan's office…" She stated glancing back in to the full waiting area. All the eyes of the patrons were on her room, the room where Jeff Hardy just entered.

"Ok," Jeff agreed leaving her room and heading back to Shan's office.

Nicole cursed her bad timing as she saw Phil walk through the front doors. She walked over to him and glanced to make sure that Jeff was out of ear shot. She smiled at him, though it was forced, and he returned it with a grin.

"Can we push lunch back?" She asked him softly.

Phil looked at her concerned, "Sure, is something wrong?" He asked.

"Not really wrong…" She stated glancing over at the people to her right and then back at him. "Jeff just came in and we haven't talked in three days… and he looks like he wants to talk… I can call you when we're done or…"

"It's ok… I'll hang out over here…" He nodded his head over towards D who was falling asleep in his chair, while Tanya looked through her book to see if she had an opening for one of the walk-in clients.

"Thanks Phil," She smiled before walking back to Shannon's office.

As soon as she walked in Jeff grabbed her attention. He was shuffling through her sketches and had his feet propped up on Shannon's mahogany desk. She felt a small smile tug at her lips as she rested against the closed door.

"What's up?" She asked him.

"I was pretty brash the last time we talked," Jeff cleared his throat. "And I was pretty fucked up…" He admitted.

Nicole could do nothing but nod, she could tell that he wasn't exactly sober right now either, but him admitting this was a step. A small step, but it was still a step closer to recovery. She nodded her head waiting for him to continue.

"I realized something today," He swallowed letting his feet fall to the floor, and dropping her sketches. "I went over to my house… rather what's left of my house…" She could see his eyes begin to water, the glossy look coming as a hint of red found it's way to his face. "I realized a lot of things while sitting where everything used to be…"

"Jeff," She said his name softly, but he didn't stop to look at her.

"What you said was right," He decided. "I was using Beth as my excuse…" The mop of faded red, blue and green hung low, his voice was deep. "I don't want to have excuses anymore," He looked up at her, there eyes locked.

"What do you want?" She asked him carefully.

"I want my life back,"

Nicole was silent for a minute and he stood up, he held her face in his hands and he looked her dead in the eye. His dark green eyes seemed to be opening up for her, they were telling her things, but she couldn't hear them. Not right now.

"I can't do this alone," He told her honestly. "I need you… I've always needed you…"

"You know I'll help you anyway I can, Jeff…" She whispered, her brown eyes searching his.

"I can't do it by myself," He told her again.

"I know," She nodded, putting her hands on top of his. "I'll help you Jeff, you just have to want to do this… I'm not forcing you anymore."

"I do… I want to do this… I want my life back…" He leaned his forehead against hers. "I want my career back, I want my house back… I want you back…"

A small smile spread across Nicole's face as she nodded her head, "If you're serious… I'll come to Matt's tonight, Jeff… you can stay with me…" She stated carefully.

"Ok," He agreed. "Ok…"

She opened the door and almost forgot about Phil waiting for her until Jeff glanced at her with a look on his face that said it all. What the hell was he doing here? He was talking to Chad who had waltzed in, and Phil was showing off the finished job.

Jeff walked over swiftly, Nicole on his heels as he interrupted their conversation.

"Phil, what are you doing here?" He asked glancing between the two.

"Well, I…" Phil was about to explain when Nicole grabbed Jeff's arm and pulled him back a bit, he was in Phil's face, and Phil wasn't one for confrontations.

"He was just going to take me to lunch as a thank you for finishing up for this slacker…" She grinned hoisting her finger in Chad's direction.

"Lunch?" Jeff looked down at her and then back at Phil, hazel eyes met green eyes and the two men stared each other down. Jeff 's nose twitched slightly as he glanced back down at Nicole. "Have'er back at a decent hour, will ya Brooks?"

With that a calm and collected Jeff Hardy left Gas Chamber Ink, causing Phil, Chad and Nicole to look at each other oddly. Chad broke the ice, as he pointed to Phil's back and smirked at her.

"That's a whack as job you did on the shading…" He grinned.

"Maybe if you're lazy ass would get up in the morning I would have to take your clients, fucker…" She snapped back smirking at Phil. "You ready?" She asked.

"Yeah," He agreed as she took his elbow and led him out to his car.

"So, where you taking me, Punk?" She asked him with a sideways grin.

Shattering, that's all Jeff felt like doing right now. Shattering something, he was livid. Who the fuck was Phil Brooks? Who was that _punk_, to think he could take out Nic? As soon as he got in to his room, he shattered the first thing he got his hands on which was a vase that their mother had made a long time ago with Matt.

He looked over at his bag and pulled out the bottle, without a second thought he took out two of the large pills and dry-swallowed them. His head pounded at the thoughts running through his head.

_First fucking Shannon, now Punk? What the fuck is going on with Nicole… she's my Nicole. _His face turned red with anger as he punched his fist through the drywall of the room. _She had always been HIS Nicole, no one else's. _Grinding his teeth he ravished towards the bathroom, he was hot.

Sweating profusely as the high he was on was crashing, the new one had to kick in and soon. He looked at himself in the mirror. Those glassed over green eyes stared back at him, _wolf-like _that's how Nicole always explained them. She thought they were _sexy_. Her words from years previous echoed in his head.

_"You'll always be the only man for me Jeff Hardy,"_

She had told him that the night of her senior prom. He had taken her, and she was absolutely thrilled. He was her everything then, and he was her everything now. She didn't have anymore family left, Jeff, Matt and Gil were it. They were all that was left for her.

_"What's wrong Nic?" He asked her pushing her light brown hair out of her face. She looked up at him her dark brown eyes sad._

_"I don't have anythin' Jeff, nothin'…" Her eyes flooded with tears as they ran down her rosy cheeks._

_"You've got dad," He pointed out. "You've got Mat…" His grin widened, he put a finger under his chin and smiled at her; those dark green eyes were warm and full of love. "And most importantly you've got me, Sugar…" _

Sugar, he stared at the mirror. He hadn't called her that in forever. Beth didn't like it when he called her that. She didn't get along with Nicole at first, but the two grew on each other, but Beth had a hidden animosity towards her, because of Jeff.

Because she knew that Jeff loved Nicole. And he had always loved her, and she believed that he loved Nicole more than he loved her.

_Maybe she was right_, Jeff thought staring down at the sink. _Maybe she was right about something_.

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	5. You Think You Want Me

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**Chapter 05**_**  
Y**__ou Think You Want Me_

The sound of rough, angry music came from upstairs, and this worried Nicole as soon as she stepped foot in to the Hardy household. That was the same kind of music that Matt had listened to when he found out about Amy and Adam. This worried her, just a bit.

Jeff liked hard rock, but he was usually pretty mellow, he didn't usually blare it out of the speakers and the sounds coming from behind the door didn't make her feel any more at ease. She could hear the shuffling, she could hear the cursing.

She opened the door and found the room a complete disaster. There was a broken vase right as you stepped in to the room. She recognized that vase; it was the vase that Matt and Ruby had made together, her heart fluttered at the thought that Jeff had destroyed this piece.

Something that meant so much to Matt, he couldn't have.

The room itself was a disaster area; clothes were all over the place. Papers flooded the room. There was not an inch of the room that even looked clean. Like how Matt usually had it, how he preferred it.

"Jeff?" Her voice was loud over the music; she could see a shadow in the doorway of the bathroom. He poked his head out and she noticed that his hair dye was darker than it was when he had come by the shop.

"You're here early," His voice was laced, but she couldn't tell with what. He sounded somber, almost lifeless.

"I decided to call it a day, I cancelled my afternoon appointments…" She found her way through the mess and turned off the radio. "Care to explain this?" She asked him.

"Not particularly…" He stated his head finding its way back in to the bathroom.

"Jeff, your brother's vase is broken," She pointed to the floor.

"I'll buy him a new one…" Jeff groaned as the water turned on.

Her eyes rolled angrily, "That was _his _vase Jeff… the one he made with Ruby…"

Jeff's eyes focused in on the mirror before him, could he have done that? In his blinded rage, had he really broken his brother's vase, the one he made with their mother when she was dying? Had he really done something so stupid?

His jaw set as he tried to remember, but he was up again. He was on a kick, he was in the zone, and he couldn't think back. He couldn't remember the first thing he grabbed and broke to relive the stress, the pain that was swelling up inside of him.

The way that Phil looked at _his_ Nicole, the way that Nicole made it look _safe_ to go out with him for lunch. He grabbed on to the sink just thinking about their interactions, the possible conversation, and his 'drug free' life style.

_Fucking Punk_, Jeff thought bitterly.

"Are you going to come out here and talk to me?" She asked him sitting down on the half made bed.

"Let me finish." He snapped before the water turned back on and he stuck his head under the faucet, green, red and black slipped in to the sink.

The colors mixed and formed an incredibly terrible brown color; he grabbed the white towel behind him and wrapped his hair in it. He stepped out and saw her sitting on his bed, more or less lying. She was propped up on her elbows, legs crossed down at the ankles and she was just waiting. Waiting for him.

His green eyes didn't leave her body. She was wearing a plaid blue and black skirt that was short, but had a bit of lace poking out underneath it. A black tank top that had the Gas Chamber Ink logo on it, Shannon had custom made some new shirts for her and Tanya to wear to the shop. Her milky white thighs were toned and covered with a pair of fishnets and her mid-calf lace-up boots with a very chunky, but sexy heel.

He had never seen her look so hot. He felt himself stir just looking at her, unmentionable things crossing through his mind as she scrunched her face up. He smirked; t hat was one of her bored faces. He grabbed the towel on his head and dried his locks before tossing the towel to the side and approaching the bed.

Jeff grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He was standing between her legs; she was looking up at him, those deep brown eyes staring at him, wondering what he was up to. He leaned down, wanting nothing more than to take her right there on his brother's spare bed.

Leaning down, he cupped her chin in one hand, his face coming closer and closer to hers. Nicole couldn't move her entire body just reacted to Jeff on its own; she had no say in what it did or how it reacted. She knew she should stop him, she knew that if anything happened between them now, it would be a mistake.

His mouth covered hers, his weight falling on top of her, pushing her back on the bed. His free hand found its way in to her hair, pushing her closer to him, deepening the kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips and Nicole's fingers grabbed on to his colorful locks.

Her brain started to react, when his hand that had been cupping her face, was now massaging at her left breast. She released her grip on his hair, and pulled away from him, using her now-free hands to push him away.

"We shouldn't be doing this…" She instructed him.

"Yes, we should," Jeff stated his mouth claiming hers again.

Nicole forcefully pushed him away again, "Jeff, you are in no state to be doing this… none…" She shook her head rolling off of the bed and towards the door. "Maybe, you should stay here another night. Let the pills wear off and when you're in your right mind… you can come stay with me…"

Jeff stared at the empty spot; he was still leaning in to the bed, where she had been. His gaze snapped over to her and he slammed his fists in to the bed. That glazed over look returned to his eyes and she stepped in to the hallway.

"Jeff, I just think… that…"

He cut her off, "Is this about Phil?" He asked his eyes turning in to small slits. "Is this about that fucking 'drug free' punk?" He asked sardonically.

"Phil?" She asked shaking her head. "No, this isn't about Phil… when did any of this have to do with Phil?" She asked him confused.

"Or is it Shannon?" Jeff asked angrily. "Did Shannon finally win?" His voice was low and his words were harsh. "Or are you not sure which one you like to fuck more… Shannon or Phil? Phil or Shannon? Which is it goin' to fuckin' be, Nic?" He asked her angrily.

She stood flabbergasted, where did these accusations come from? She went to _lunch_ with Phil, and she had _dinner_ with one of her close friends, when did that turn in to fucking? Her hands clenched at her sides as she stared him down.

She opened her mouth to tell him to fuck off, but nothing came out. She couldn't say that to him, not in this state, which would just cause more destruction, more damage. She had to think this out; she had to think ahead of his actions.

She stepped back in to the room and started picking up the room, she looked up at Jeff who was staring at her, "Come on, let's get your stuff packed and go to my house…" She reasoned.

Jeff didn't say much, his intense green eyes locked with hers for another few moments before he picked up his duffel bag from the floor and started throwing his things in to it. They didn't talk; they did nothing but look at each other.

The looks he gave her, Nicole swallowed hard, were immobilizing sometimes. That gaze would fix on her, or on her body, making it hard for her to move comfortable under it. She could feel him watching her from the other side of the room. She didn't want to stop earlier, but they had to. She couldn't be Beth's rebound girl… she wouldn't allow it.

The ride back down to her house was silent, Jeff sat fiddling with her radio stations as she eased the car down the hill, parking Jeff grabbed his things and headed inside for the spare bedroom. Nicole brought up the rear, not sure how this was going to work, or what was going to happen.

She did, however, realize this was going to be the hardest two months of her life. And she wasn't sure if she was ready for it yet. But right now, she had absolutely no choice in the matter. She had to help Jeff. He had come to her for help, and she had to provide that. She had to provide his support system.

Jeff threw his things in the spare room; the feeling of his lips on Nicole's was burned in to his memory. He loved every minute of it. He wanted to feel like that again. The heat, the passion, the love in their kiss was undeniable, but she had pushed him away.

Why?

_Because of Phil?_ He thought angrily shoving his bag away from him. _Because of Shannon? _He could almost live with that, but, there was no way it could go any further. Shannon loved Nicole, but she didn't love him back… not like that, or did she?

The thought of her loving someone else, killed him. He pushed himself out of the room, and towards the kitchen. He really needed a beer right now. Maybe two… or three… or five…

Nicole was cleaning up a few stray dishes and tensed as soon as she smelled his cologne, it was an alluring scent. A mixture of musk and his 'secret' mixture. He went straight for the fridge, grabbed a beer and popped the bottle open without any trouble.

His swigs were long and she could feel his eyes on her backside, he was eyeing her up. She didn't want to know what was going through his mind right now, because it probably mirrored her thoughts back in Matt's spare room, and that wasn't good.

They couldn't go in to this with a foggy mindset. They had to go in clear-minded.

"Jeff," She said his name, Jeff felt his heartbeat quicken. "I want you to know that there is nothing going on between me and Phil or me and Shan…" She pointed out, making sure that he knew. There was nothing going on at all between her and either wrestler.

Jeff took another swig, his eyes locked with hers, trying to read her, trying to see past her exterior and look within her to see if she was telling the truth. He determined that she was, and rested the beer bottle on the counter.

"Then why'd you go to lunch with Phil?" He asked.

"We went as friends, he did say that he had interest in me, but I told him that now was not a good time for me…" She cleared her throat and turned back to the dishes.

"And Shannon, the other night?" Jeff pointed towards the door.

"Two friends having dinner together," She shrugged feeling him come closer to her.

"You and I both know that Shannon had different motives than that…"

"So, what if he did?" She asked Jeff. "Nothing happened… and Shannon knows that we can't be…"

"Does he?" Jeff asked letting his fingers touch the soft skin on her shoulders. "How does he know that?" He questioned close to her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"I told him, Jeff…" She turned around and looked up at him, those damned green eyes piercing in to her soul again. "I told him that I couldn't love him back the way he wanted me too, and he knew that…"

"But, he had to try again, didn't he?" Jeff asked his jaw setting.

Nicole didn't answer, her face answered for her. Jeff rolled his eyes and grabbed her face in his hands again. She felt her heart beat quicken, her stomach was in her throat, and her nerves were completely at their wits end. The closeness between them, his breath on her face… it was too much to fight.

"Jeff don't…" She whispered softly. "I don't want to be your rebound girl," She said sadly pulling his hands from her face.

It took everything in her not to kiss him, not to push him back against the island and take his clothes of. Just to fuck him right there on the kitchen floor. She had dreamed of doing it for many nights, and here he was throwing himself at her, for the second time that day and she was pushing him away.

"You're not my rebound girl," Jeff whispered to her, those intense eyes, softening just a bit as he stared her down.

"Yes I would be… look Jeff," She watched him take a step back. "You know how I feel about you; I've never hidden that…" She cleared her throat. "But you need help right now, and by us…" She motioned between the two of them. "Having any kind of relationship could ruin our friendship…" She pointed out. "It could ruin what you want…"

"I want you," He pushed her black hair out of her face, staring her down as his pinched nose touched hers softly.

"You think you want me," She shook her head. "I want to get you better Jeff; I want to help you get back on track…"

**I don't know about you but if Jeff was throwing himself at me, I couldn't resist. It was very hard for me to even write it! :)**

Remember to R&R! Reviews Inspiration Updates!


	6. Help

**The chapters are just flowing out of me. I've gotten such an amazing response on this one, that the inspiration is causing my brain to go on the fritz of a writing frenzy. A story hasn't flowed out of me like this since Damaged, so that must mean I'm doing a helluva a job... :)**

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**Chapter 06**_**  
H**__elp_

After their talk in the kitchen, Jeff had grabbed his beer and sat in the living room, flipping through channels almost mindlessly. Nicole finished her dishes and leaned against the sink, trying to hold on to her bearings. She couldn't keep doing this to herself. Jeff Hardy, the love of her life was throwing himself at her in every which way and she was skillfully rejecting him.

Little did she know this was pushing him deeper. Jeff found the bottle in his bag, grabbing a couple of the pills he swallowed them chasing them down with the last few sips of his cold beer. He groaned looking at the empty bottle as he trudged back in to the kitchen.

_Rejection._

It was not something that Jeff Hardy took lightly. He had been rejected by Beth, and that only made him fall deeper at first. Then he lost his house, and Jack… things seemed to be getting worse… but looked up when he was able to reconcile with Nicole. But then she rejected him too, more than once.

_What was wrong with me? _The questions plagued his mind as he grabbed another beer from the fridge. She wasn't in the kitchen anymore, he noted. She must either be in her room, or in the living room. He was right; she was sitting on the couch watching whatever he had left on.

She turned to look at him, seeing the fresh beer she sighed.

"Jeff, you shouldn't be drinking…" She stated carefully, treading lightly.

He stared at her for a minute, those concerned brown eyes were full of sadness. It was something he had picked up on, being able to read her just by her eyes. No one could read her like he could, that was, no one but Shannon who was starting to master the art.

_He had more time with her. _Jeff decided. She worked for him, they had dated… they had been _intimate_ with one another. Done things that Jeff had only dreamed of doing with Nicole, Shannon had done. He had been there before Jeff had.

The thought irked him beyond belief, and drove him to take another long swig of his beer.

"We'll start tomorrow," He grinned before flopping down on the opposite couch.

Nicole sighed to herself, she wanted him to take this seriously, she wanted to be able to help him… how could she help him when he wouldn't even give up on the things that were ruining his life, his career? She stood up from her spot on the couch and glared at him hurtfully. She had seen the look in his eyes, the desperation when he left the kitchen.

The need.

It was no longer there in his eyes when he returned; he had given in to it again. He had popped a couple of more pills to ease whatever 'pain' he thought he was having. Was it physical pain, emotional? She didn't know, and she wouldn't know until Jeff Hardy decided it was time for her to know.

She walked out of the room and in to the spare room where Jeff would be staying. She looked trough his bags. She loved Jeff, but she knew that he had brought those pain killers in to her house, and she wasn't going to allow him to do this, not in front of her. Not under her roof.

She found four bottles. Four different prescriptions for the pain, she grabbed them and brought them out to the living room. Jeff stared up at her for a moment, watching her come out of the spare room. Her small hands clasped on to four large orange prescription bottles that were all half-full.

"What are you doing?" Jeff asked standing up immediately.

"I'm getting rid of it Jeff…" She stated as she went in to the kitchen.

Jeff followed her quickly in to the kitchen as she flipped on the water and the garbage disposal. Jeff watched in horror as the first bottle of pills met its end in the hot water and spinning blades. He grabbed her arm as she was about to let the second bottle's contents fall.

"Don't do this, Nic…" He pleaded with her. She had never seen his eyes look so light, so dull… and so dead. "I need them…" He whispered.

"You don't need them Jeff," She shook her head letting the contents fall down the drain. Jeff winced hearing the choking sound the garbage disposal made as it chopped up his addiction. "You want help," She stated looking him dead in the eye. "I'm giving it to you, you don't need this… you don't need these to live…"

"I'm getting old, Sugar…" Jeff stated softly, using his nickname for her. A name he hadn't used in years. Her look softened, "I'm hurting and I don't recover like I used to…" He sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down.

"This is what is hurting you," She held up the last two bottles. "Jeff, I wouldn't do this if I didn't love you… I can't see you go through this anymore… you are putting your career, your family, your friends… your LIFE on the line for this…" She stated letting the next bottle's contents fall hazardously in to the grinding disposal.

Without another thought the last of his prescription pain killers were in the disposal, being chopped up in to chalk as Jeff watched in horror. Nicole turned off the garbage disposal, letting the water run a bit longer as she turned it off as well.

It was her turn to take Jeff's face in to her hands, she made him look at her, those eyes were full of tears. Tears for something that had ruined him. Tears for drugs that could have killed him, could have made him lose everything, everything that he had worked so hard to achieve. She couldn't see that happen. She turned away from him and walked straight to her room.

Jeff didn't see her the rest of the night. She had locked herself in her room and refused to come out, not even for dinner. He sighed. He was too dependent on those pain killers to realize that he was losing what was most important to him.

_This is going to end_, he vowed to himself. _I'm not losing anything else to this,_ he refused.

Before Jeff was even up the next day Nicole was up, making her morning smoothie and getting ready for work. She had double the amount of appointments that she had planned on, but didn't mind. It would keep her mind off of Jeff for a little while. Or maybe, just maybe she should bring Jeff in to the shop to keep an eye out on him.

_No_, she decided. She could only do so much. He had to want to do this, he had to want to quit and want to turn his life around, and she couldn't baby-sit him for the rest of his life.

She left him a note on the fridge telling him that she went to work. She grabbed her smoothie, wallet and keys and took off. She wanted to get this day over with before she had to deal with anymore of Jeff.

It was noon by the time Jeff woke up; he had drunk himself in to oblivion. He had walked over to his house last night after Nicole locked herself away, and thought about all the good times they had there. All the fun times before Jeff's problem.

The times before his four failed attempts at rehab. Before he got sick. Before he decided to ruin everything he ever had to get that next high. To feel like he was invincible again.

He had a rude awakening the last time he was suspended for failing the drug test. He had snapped out of it, with the pressured help from Shannon and Nicole. Beth wasn't much help, he remembered. She bitched at him the entire time. Telling him that maybe he needed to just quit wrestling. Maybe they should get married, and travel the world, or have a baby.

_Get married?_ He thought shaking his head. He never pictured marrying Beth. _Was that bad?_ He questioned himself. He had only thought about marrying Nicole, before Beth, he thought that was going to happen, but it never did. He stayed with Beth, Beth was safe.

She _was_ his excuse.

He was scared of Nicole. He was scared of what he felt for her, and to get away from that, he had Beth. He loved Beth, there was never a doubt in that, but he couldn't love her fully, because a part of him always belonged to Nicole.

He was thirty, maybe he needed to settle down and start a family? Wasn't it about that time? Randy was having a baby, the fucking Legend Killer was married and having a baby and Jeff wasn't. He was stuck.

An unlikely pair Orton and Hardy were, but they got along… they had quite a few things in common. They both had addictions, Randy was able to concur his… with the help of his wife. They both loved tattoos, they both loved art, believe it or not, and they both loved the same kind of music.

But Orton had one up on the younger Hardy brother. He had love, he had a new life coming in to this world and he wasn't even thirty yet. Jeff's gaze settled on the note on the fridge.

_Jeff – Went to work, call me if you need me. – Nic _

He loved her handwriting, he realized. It was airy and had wonderful curves; it was elegant in its own way. He remembered that they had once said they were going to marry each other just because she made H's prettier than M's. That had pissed Shannon off royally… but she said it also put Shane in the running for being her future husband, which made the future WWE Superstar smirk and tell Shannon he could take a hike.

They had just been joking, of course, but Jeff still said that it was meant to be for them. They had only been kids then. Still in high school, and two friends fighting over her attention. Though then, neither of them had won because her interest was caught by another boy, that they had gone to school with.

Jeff never had his chance, but Shannon got one not long after that. They were together for a long time… he remembered. A solid relationship, but as soon as Shannon told her that he loved her, it all went down hill.

He didn't know exactly how it went down between the couple; and he can't say that he was disappointed either, but while they were in the process of breaking up, he was dating Beth. And it seemed like Beth was the right fit for him.

Or at least he thought so at the time.

Nicole finished up with her last client and noticed that the shop was pretty empty for this time of night. Usually they had some late night stragglers but not tonight. It was a Thursday night after all. She had taken the next few days off, clearing her schedule and asking clients if they'd prefer to see another artist because she had a 'family emergency'.

It wasn't a total lie. She knew the next few days were going to be extremely hard on Jeff. Withdrawals were hard, they were frightening and she knew if he wanted to get it out of his system, go complete cold turkey she was going to have to be there for him. And to her, Jeff was like family.

She said goodnight to Tanya, Chad, Shane and D and hurried out of the shop. She stopped on the way to pick up some food she had called in at the local Italian restaurant, being sure to pick up Jeff's favorite. She hoped that the withdrawals hadn't kicked in yet.

When she got home she managed to get the door open with her hands full. She had taken some of her sketches home, along with some marketing things Shannon had her working on, on the side. She might as well get something done while Jeff was sleeping, or while he was going on detox.

"Jeff!?" She called his name out seeing the TV, but no Jeff Hardy in the living room.

A rush of panic came over her as she ran to the spare room and didn't see him, only the bed unmade; she yelled his name again and heard something in the guest bathroom. She felt a small wave of relief as she knocked on the door, seeing the door closed, but light off she came to the conclusion that withdrawals were starting to kick in.

She heard a loud groan, and a thud, and then someone moving and the door unlocking as she pushed it open to see him lying in the dark, his head was now resting against the toilet as his entire body shook.

Nicole kneeled down next to him and pushed his hair out of his face, "Are you ok?" She asked quietly.

Jeff stared at her for a second before he felt himself dry heave, and then throwing up whatever, if anything, was left in his stomach. Nicole cringed and rubbed his back, trying to help comfort him. Jeff sat back up and rested against the tub, his green eyes found hers and he felt like dying.

"I want to curl up and die…" He exclaimed quietly.

"Jeff, don't say that…" She noticed the sweat dripping down his face, his entire face pinched in discomfort. "Let's get you some tea," She instructed pulling him up off of the ground. Jeff coughed rapidly as Nicole tried her hardest to get him in to the spare room.

Thinking against her better judgment she skipped his room and went straight to hers. She wrapped him up in her comforter and told him to sit tight while she got him some herbal tea. That would, hopefully, help settle his stomach.

She returned ten minutes later to see Jeff completely passed out on her bed, his body began to tremor terribly, as a cold sweat broke out over his face, and his forehead scrunched together in pain. He was tossing and turning and rapidly moving against the sheets.

Setting the tea down, Nicole slipped out of her shoes and climbed in to bed with him, she pulled Jeff close to her body. Body Heat. She assured herself. That was the only reason, she was helping him. Helping him stay warm. Helping him, comforting him through this difficult time.

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**I've never experience withdrawals, and I've luckily never had to help a friend through any, so I had to do my research on it. So, I hope that I portray the right picture for everyone with this. **

On another note, thanks again to my reviewers, cause you all know Jeff's a sexy beast. And R&R!


	7. Seven More Weeks

**Have I told you guys how much you rock yet? No, ok well... you guys fuckin' rock, ok? You do... and I love you for it. Here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 07**_**  
S**__even__ More Weeks_

The sound of rigorous dry heaving woke Nicole up from a night of restless sleep. She had been up half the night with him, feeding him tea, and dressed warmly with every comforter she could find in the house. This had been the worse withdrawal she had seen him go through, ever.

"Jeff," Her voice was laced with sleep as she pulled herself out of her bed. She tugged at the bottom of her black and blue boxers, taking care of the fabric that had ridden up her backside while sleeping. She found Jeff leaning over the toilet, his face pale and with hints of red blotching around his forehead and cheeks.

"I'm dying," He murmured.

That's how he felt. His insides were wrenching, contracting like a boa constrictor around it's prey. It was making him give up the last food, and drink that he had… making his entire body convulse while trying to rid his body of the toxins that he put in to it.

His body was rejecting him, just as Nicole had. His brow furrowed as he slammed his fist down on to the linoleum of the bathroom floor. He couldn't understand why, why couldn't he just take his pills? Why couldn't he just have his career? Why couldn't he just have the girl of his dreams?

_What the fuck is stopping you, Hardy?_ He yelled to himself in his head. The pounding becoming harder and heavier as he leaned against the cool porcelain. He pulled on his colorful locks and leaned back in pain, he felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly in the stomach, right in the kidneys, and in the intestines, just going to town on him internally.

She was kneeling next to him now; Nicole took a grasp on Jeff's hands and pulled them away from his head, trying to relieve any further pain from his body. He had to relax. She wanted to take the pain away, but she knew she couldn't. There was no way that she could possibly take it away.

"Jeff calm down," She whispered in to his ear, pulling his face against her chest and resting her chin on the top of his head. Jeff's arms circled around her waist and he held on to her, as if his life depended on it.

They stayed like this for what felt like hours in to the early morning, she finally was able to get him up and on the couch. He was wrapped up in two large comforters with the A/C off in the house, on another one of North Carolina's hottest days.

She glanced over and saw the food she had brought home last night and stuck it in the refrigerator. She poured herself a cup of tea and made Jeff one as well. She came back in to the living room to see him hunched over in agony. Her heart wrenched at the sight of her best friend in so much agonizing pain, and she couldn't do anything to help.

She couldn't give him anything to relieve the pain.

She set the two cups of tea on the table in front of Jeff and went in search for her heating pad. She hadn't used it in awhile, not since she had her surgery. She found it hidden away in her night stand and came back out, lying Jeff down on the couch, she plugged the heating pad in and had him put it on his stomach, hoping the heat would help relieve some of the pain in his abdomen.

The only thing she could think of was to get him some aspirin. She was concerned though, would that be bad? Should she call a doctor and ask questions? Sighing she walked in to the kitchen and dialed an all too familiar number.

"'Elo?" The southern accent on the other side greeted her.

"Matt?" She questioned, making sure it was the elder Hardy brother.

"The one and only, Nicki… what's up?" He asked.

"Are you backstage?" She asked hoping that she had caught him at the arena preparing for the taping of Friday Night SmackDown.

"Yes ma'am… what's goin' on?" He asked her carefully.

"Can you do me a huge favor?" Her tone was hushed.

"Of course, anythin'…" He agreed.

"Can you go to the medic backstage, and ask him if it's ok to give aspirin to someone having withdrawals from pain medication?" She stated crossing her arms over her chest.

"You mean Jeff is…" Matt trailed off.

"Yes,"

"Here talk to Shan for me for a second; I'll go find the doc…" Matt handed the phone off to Shannon who had just walked in to the room as he took off in hopes to find the doctor.

"H'llo?" Shannon's voice came over the speaker and a small smile tugged at her lips.

"It's me Shan,"

"Nicki, babe… what's going on? Are you hurt?" He asked wondering why Matt ran to go find the doctor. "Is Jeff hurt? Did Jeff hurt you? Did he hurt himself?" His questions started to spiel off as he realized that she probably was with the younger Hardy brother.

"No I'm fine… and no Jeff didn't hurt me…" She snickered. "He's going through withdrawals… I wanted to know if it was ok to give him aspirin for his headaches or his pains, without making the situation worse…"

"You're like his mom, it's cute…" Shannon stated seriously, though his playfulness was shining through.

"Don't be a prick, Shan…" She stated peaking her head back in to the room to hear Jeff groan inwardly.

"Sorry, how is he?" He questioned.

"Miserable…" She cringed hearing him wince as the sound of his body moving against her suede couches caught her attention again. "I want to take away the hurt," She whispered in to the phone.

"You can't do that, Nic… you're an incredible woman, but you're not Wonder Woman, ok?" Shannon reminded her.

"I know, but it kills me Shan, it kills me to see him like this…"

"I know it does babe, but he's strong, he'll get through this… look Matt's back…" He said goodbye and Matt took the phone back breathing heavily in to the phone.

"Catch your breath their big brother…" She smiled softly, she could see the dark haired Hardy brother leaning over, the phone clenched in one hand as the other rested on his hip, taking long deep breaths.

"Sorry, wow…" He stood up, to his full height. "The doc said that it should be ok, just give him two for now and see if that helps…" He breathed again. "But, he said if he's suffering from headaches or cold chills put him in a warm bath."

"Thanks, you're the greatest; I'll keep you updated via text… ok?" She stated.

The two said goodbye as she grabbed two aspirin from the container in her cabinets. She glanced in at all of the over-the-counter drugs and figured that she might want to get rid of them, or hide them from the younger Hardy brother.

She came out to find Jeff curled up, teeth chattering, his eyes watering, his face pale, and sweat coming down rapidly from his colorful locks. She sat him up, grabbing the cup of tea and holding the aspirin out for him to take.

Jeff stared at her open palm; two small white tablets stared back at her. His face was questioning, and she gave him a nudge to take them.

"They're aspirin…" She instructed.

Jeff's face fell slightly as he took the tablets in a shaky hand. He tossed the pills to the back of his very dry throat and took a long sip of the mildly warm tea. Nicole sat with him for a minute, her entire body was facing him, her face was plastered with concern, and rubbing her hand over his forehead she kissed it softly.

"How about a nice warm bath?" She asked him.

Jeff rose an eyebrow up at her, his teeth were chattering together again, he pulled the comforters closer around him. Breaking in to another cold sweat all he felt like doing was sleeping, he yawned and nodded his head to her.

Nicole smiled; she walked towards her bedroom and drew him a bath. She made sure the bath was at a decent temperature and added in some lavender for relaxation. She walked back in to the living room and saw Jeff sipping his tea again.

After a few minutes of struggling Nicole was able to get him in to her bathroom and out of his clothes. Jeff wasn't a shy person, and asked her to stay with him, incase he fell asleep, or did something stupid.

Nicole knew what he meant, his last withdrawal she thought was bad, but this one was starting to take the cake. Jeff Hardy had threatened to kill himself towards the end of his last withdrawal. He had found some of Matt's older pain killer prescription and had nearly taken the whole bottle by the time that Nicole and Shannon got to him.

He had his stomach pumped; she remembered getting pulled over doing nearly ninety-five miles an hour on the high way on her way back to Cameron. She told the officer that their best friend was about to commit suicide and that he could mail her the fucking ticket if he wanted to.

She had received a huge speeding ticket, along with another ticket for insubordination or something along that line. She didn't remember, she just remembered Jeff taking the ticket, after he had cleaned himself up again, and telling her it was his fault, he would pay for it.

She almost lost him that day, if they hadn't of been speeding they would have never made it to Matt's house in time to get Jeff to the hospital. When they got there, she remembered bursting in to the house and yelling his name at the top of her lungs.

She had cried the entire way there, barely being able to drive. She found him lying half unconscious on Matt's bathroom floor, the bottle on the counter. His body was beginning to convulse when Shannon came in and she ran straight for the toilet as Shannon called 911 and told them that they were on their way to the hospital.

Jeff looked over at Nicole; a tear had escaped her eye as she sat staring down at the floor. Jeff couldn't move, his entire body was tense, but the hot water made him feel so good. It was calming. He was no longer chattering he didn't feel the tension in his head anymore; it made him feel good again.

"S-sugar, wha-what's wrong?" He asked her carefully, his voice stuttering.

"Nothing," She forced a smile, wiping the tear away as she looked at him.

"You may think you're good at lyin' sweetheart, but you suck…" His voice cracked as he spoke, his mouth dry.

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her comfy chair that sat in the middle of her overly spacious master bathroom.

Jeff sunk lower in to the water, letting it hit his bearded chin. He ran a hand up and down his face, he gagged inwardly. He hadn't shaved since he was suspended; he hadn't felt the need to groom himself. He glanced over at Nicole again; it was probably hard for her to look at something so atrocious.

His thoughts sunk lower and lower and as he did he let his body slip under the water, his face as soon submerged and when Nicole looked up his entire body was under the water. Her eyes snapped wide open as she rushed to the side of the tub, not bothering to yank up the sleeves of her long-sleeved shirt, and tried to pull his body up.

_He's got a hundred more pounds on you, Nic…_ She thought to herself as she was at least able to pull his nose out of the water. His body convulsed upward as he gasped for air, taking in a mouth full of water.

"Fuck," She cursed stepping in to the tub, jeans and all she was able to use her lower body to pull his upper body up out of the water. Jeff gasped as he grabbed on to her wet arms, his green wolf-like eyes stared up at her in shock. "Don't you fucking do that again, Jeffrey," She ordered her face showing her seriousness.

She didn't speak to him the rest of the night. He had told her it was an accident but she didn't believe him. She didn't abandon him though. She cuddled him, she comforted him, but she didn't speak a world.

Unbeknownst to her, the worst thing she could do was not talk to him.

Jeff felt empty inside. He needed conversation, he loved being in her arms, but he wanted her to talk. Her voice was soothing; it brought him back to reality. He was curled up in a blanket, she was lying next to him, her head propped on her fist as she stared at the TV absentmindedly.

Jeff grabbed the pad and paper he had put aside and picked it up. He jotted down a few words and passed her over the note. Nicole looked down at the note and then at Jeff. She read it and smirked at him as she grabbed the pen circling something and handing it back to him.

In his scribble hand the note said, **Do you like me? Check one: Yes No**

She had circled the first and he smiled at her, his pains had subsided slowly from the aspirin that she was giving him every six hours. He pulled her over to him and placed a kiss on the top of her head, she felt good with his arms wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry, Sugar…" He whispered in her ear.

"Jeff," She turned to look him in the eye. "You can't do that to me ok?" She had tears in her eyes. "I almost lost you once, before to this… I don't want to go through that again…"

The tears slipped from those beautiful brown eyes and Jeff used his thumb to wipe them away. He hated to see girls crying, especially Nicole. What he hated most of all, was that he was the reason for her tears, more times than none.

"Don't cry, Sugar… please…" He held her against his chest. "We'll get through this, I promise."

Nicole sniffled, she looked at Jeff seriously. He was very good about keeping his word, except when it came to this. This had been the only time he had ever lied to her, his addiction was the cause of everything fowl for them. Beth let him get away with it, it seemed as tough she didn't care that it was messing up Jeff's life.

Or maybe, that's what she wanted.

Shaking her head, this wasn't about Beth or what she did or what she wanted. This was about Jeff and helping him get better. She hoped that he meant it this time. She really hoped that everything that had happened in the last week would help him turn his life around.

She had seven more weeks to get him straight again. Seven more weeks to get back the man that he used to be, the man that she loved, and the man that loved her. Seven more weeks to fight the evil addiction that had done him in, and took away his everything.

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**Feed my fire ladies, please... I need some more inspiration; give me a swift kick in the ass. I heart Reviews! (I heart Mr. Hardy too... ;))**


	8. Because of You

**You all are amazing. Period.**

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**Chapter 08**_**  
B**__ecause of You_

Her next few days off were encompassed around Jeff Hardy. His tremors had gotten worse and his cravings even more unmanageable. He was starting to take his anger out on Nicole and she wasn't having it. He had begged her, pleaded with her… but she wasn't going to break down.

Matt and Shannon both showed up on Saturday afternoon, but they were headed right back on the road on Sunday. Matt was livid when he came over, he had found his spare room in disarray and was royally pissed off at his baby brother. Nicole wouldn't let him harass Jeff though, not in his state.

She didn't want Jeff to go through Matt's assault. It would only worsen his thoughts on what was going on. On what was plaguing him. She had heard him muttering to himself that no one cared about him; he might as well kill himself.

Matt and Shannon's visit was a good one, Nicole thought. Jeff got a lot out of it, or at least she had hoped. She wanted him to know that everyone was there for him; they were supporting him, and wanted him to get better.

She had to return to work on Tuesday, she felt like Jeff had been stable enough for her to return without checking up on him. She had to trust him; he was a grown man and hopefully a man that could control himself.

He was sleeping in her bed again, curled up next to her when she realized that she probably needed to get rid of any or all of the antibiotics, prescription drugs or aspirin in the house. She was still having to monitor his intake on the aspirin and she was only giving him two every six hours.

She hated having to monitor him, but he had been moping the last day or so, and it was really getting to her. Hearing his low murmurs, seeing the sketches, the poems and the words he was scribbling down on paper throughout the day killed her.

On her way to work that morning her cell phone began to ring wildly, his theme music blared over the radio and she answered it with her free hand. Juggling the phone to rest between her shoulder and her ear she gave him a somewhat chipper greeting.

"Sounds like things are looking up…" Shannon grinned to himself.

"The same really," She answered

"Why so chipper then?" He asked.

"I don't know,"

"Excited to hear from me," He concluded.

"That's it…" Her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"You on your way in to the shop?" He asked.

"Yep, just pulled in to the parking lot, when are you going to be back?" She asked him.

"I actually decided to take the next few weeks off. I have a lot of workers coming in to do some things for the shop that I don't trust D with…" Shannon glanced down at his chipping fingernail polish. "And I want to be there with you…" He quickly recovered. "Incase you need help with Jeff,"

Nicole didn't pick up on his innuendo and smiled at the thought of him spending more time at home, "That's fantastic, when do you fly back home?"

"I come in on Wednesday, but have a signing in Charlotte on Thursday… so Friday I'll be in the shop…"

"Alright, well I've got a lot of shit to make up, so…" She trailed off.

"Call me later,"

With that she hung up with Shannon and entered the already open shop. D was there, Tanya was fixing herself a cup of coffee while Shane reclined back in one of the chairs. She could tell by the atmosphere that today was going to be a long day.

Empty. That's how he felt on the inside, especially waking up and the spot next to him was vacant. Where had she gone, was his first reaction, then realization hit him that, even though Shannon was her boss, she still had clients to attend to. She still had a job; responsibilities.

Jeff had offered to pay off her Prius for her, he had offered to take care of her financially, but she refused. She told him that she had money, but she didn't like to spend it when she didn't have to. She did tattooing for fun, the inheritance her parents left her after they died was enough to take care of herself. They hadn't been rich, but they definitely weren't poor either.

But she had left him, all alone. He could do this… he thought. How many other days out of the year had he woken up with out her? Almost every day for the last ten to twelve years, what was different now?

Jeff rolled out of bed and groggily looked at the bedside table that had two aspirin a glass of hot tea and a note. He took the two pills knowing that if he didn't take them his abdominal pain would be back in a flash.

Sipping the tea he held up the note and read it to himself.

_Jeff –_

_I had to get back to work today, but you know if you need me for any reason. Don't hesitate to call me, please. Matt called for you last night, so call him back when you get the chance. I'll see you at seven with dinner._

_ Love,_

_ Nicole_

He put the note back on the stand, something on her dresser caught his attention. It was a porcelain charm holder he had bought for her in India, while on one of their tours. He moved towards it, wondering what she kept inside of this piece, seeing the stand up mahogany jewelry box that stood next to her bathroom door.

He opened the lid and found several pieces of paper inside of them. He noticed one off the bat; it was his handwriting, the date in the corner showing that it was several years old. He read through it. It was a letter he written to her while on tour, a poem attached to it, along with a sketch under it.

His smile faded seeing the next two notes were _not_ from him, but from his best friend. They were recent notes. One was dated only several months prior, and the other only a few years ago. He knew Shannon always had a hard time explaining himself in words, he would get flustered and panic… ending with him saying the wrong things.

He was a song writer at heart. The first piece of paper, with the later date was a song he had written, a song that he remembered Shannon composing while in the studio together. He remembered asking him what the song was about, and Shannon had blatantly lied him. He had told Jeff that the song was about Crystal, but in the note… Shannon explained that the song he wrote was about Nicole.

The other note, from just months ago, was Shannon telling Nicole that he thought about her everyday. He wanted to hold her again; he wanted to tell her that he loved her again. Reading this made Jeff's blood boil. It was hard enough knowing that Shannon loved Nicole, but reading it, seeing it written down in Shannon's chaotic handwriting was another thing.

_She kept them_, he thought to himself. She had kept these letters, all three of them for a reason, but why? Why had she kept his letter with Shannon's? If she didn't love Shannon like that, why did she keep the letters from him, confessing his love for her?

_They were lying_, he concluded to himself. They were lying to keep him from getting hurt. They were both smart, both skilled, and they were both diabolical. They were keeping this huge secret from him, _weren't they?_

How long had this been going on? His mind wandered shoving the letters back in to the porcelain holder. His jaw set at the thought of them lying to him, for all this time, and he had fallen for it. _Who else knew?_ He wondered. Did Matt know? Did his own brother help them keep this secret from him? Did Beth know?

_Shane_, he thought, Shane had to of known what was going on. Him and Matt they were close, just like Shannon, all three of them were on SmackDown together. It was easy to keep something a secret from Jeff who was on Raw. That was it. That was what was going on. She had been polite to Phil to go out with him to lunch, but rejected him because she was already involved with Shannon.

Why else would she have denied Phil Brooks?

It was all starting to make sense to him now. But, that didn't make it any less hard for him to swallow. His best friend's both of them, lying to him. The girl that he loved was keeping this huge secret from him. She loved both of them, but she took Shannon… why?

He stumbled in to the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't even recognize the person staring back at him, it wasn't him. It was an imposter. It was someone else!

"That's why," He mumbled to himself as he ran a hand over his gnarly hair. _Shannon never did drugs_… he thought to himself bitterly. She's never had to see Shannon like this before, he was perfect. Perfect Shannon; he had everything Jeff wanted.

"Fuck!" He yelled slamming his hands down on the granite counter tops. "Fuck you," he screamed at his reflection before pulling his fist back and punching the mirror.

He watched as the glass shattered around him. The slivers bouncing off of the counter top and down on to the ground as he stared at the broken pieces that hung on the wall still. He could only see parts of himself in them.

"Who are you kidding, Hardy?" He mumbled as he pulled open the drawers, searching for something… anything.

He pulled out all of the contents, all of the bathroom floor, not caring if Nicole walked in that instant and saw him scrounging for something, anything like the fool that he was. What did she care? She had Shannon anyway.

He couldn't find a thing in the bathroom, he pulled himself off of the floor and in to the kitchen, pulling apart where her medicine cabinet was, it was full of nothing but vitamins, cough drops, and nothing much else. She had cleaned out her medicines… taking away everything that could have been harmful to him.

Jeff slammed the cabinet door shut and stalked to the fridge, absolutely livid. He glared in to see the rest of the eighteen pack of Bud Light, grabbing what was left he stormed out of the house and cut through the woods to sit on his property, to wallow.

_Fucking stupid ass people_, Jeff thought shoving his hair out of his face as he opened his fifth beer. There had been rumors he heard, that he had done this to his own house. _Fuck no_, he yelled in his head. He wouldn't have done this to himself, especially not with Jack still inside.

He walked further towards the house, the case of beer under one arm and the half empty one in his hand as he pushed through the rubble. His entire life gone, in a flash. Everything.

He had no home, no more love, and no more family.

Matt, he knew, was pissed at him for what happened at his house. His father was disappointed in him. Nicole was fucking around behind his back with his best friend, and everyone was lying to him about it. He saw right through them.

"Fucking fuck…" He kicked the drywall that had fallen in his way. "Why the fuck?" He asked angrily, tossing the now empty can to the side, he used his free hand to dig out another one. Popping open the tab he took a nice long swig, feeling the refreshing beverage go down.

Nicole was in a hurry, she was running late, her last appointment ran much later than she had expected, but she hadn't minded. The client was pleasant, and easy on the eyes, but who was she to be thinking of that at a time like this?

She had called the house several times during the day, but no answer. This worried her. Had Jeff done something stupid? Had he hurt himself, or hurt someone else? Had he run off to find some place to get something to curve his craving?

Pulling up in front of her own house, she felt her heartbeat quicken. Her stomach was in her throat when she opened the door. Her house was in complete disarray. _What had happened here?_ She asked herself.

Had Jeff lost complete and utter control of himself? She wondered slowly creeping in to the house, she went in to the spare room, there was no one. She yelled his name, it carried throughout the seemingly empty house and that chilled her to the bone. Checking her room she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, until she came in to the bathroom.

Slivers and shards of glass mirror sprinkled the ground and covered the dark granite counter tops. She felt a familiar sting in her eyes as the contents of her cabinets laid strewn on the floor. What had caused this? What had made him go absolutely crazy?

A red spot on the floor grabbed her attention, she kneeled down and felt the spot, it was dry, but a dark rustic red color. She knew that it must have been blood, blood from when he decided to punch her mirror.

She followed the small blood trail that led to the kitchen, she hadn't noticed it earlier. The trail lead in to the kitchen, again the contents of her medicine cabinet were all over the counters, the blood trails stopped at the fridge where a smudge appeared on the handle.

Opening the door she found her case of beer missing and groaned inwardly. Where had he run off to with a case of beer? She walked to the French doors that led to her backyard and looked around. Her eyes drifted over to where his house used to be and she ran through the woods.

That's where she spotted him, laying in the middle of the fallen and burned debris. He held his mouth open wide as he poured the contents of the beer in his hand in to his mouth. The gleam from the beer can nearly blinded her out in the sun, which would be setting and disappearing within the next twenty minutes.

Nicole climbed up the front steps to his house, hoping that nothing caved in on her as she took on the obstacle course that used to be Jeff's house. She said his name out loud, but he was singing, lowly while he drank his beer sullenly.

"Jeffrey Nero…" She was almost to him now; he had really found one of the most difficult spots to get to in the entire house to hide himself.

The rainbow-haired man looked at her and a scowl crossed his face, Nicole's eyebrows slammed together in confusion as he tossed an empty can at her.

"What the hell do you want?" He asked her.

"Jeff, you're drunk…" She informed him.

"Fuck it," He popped open the last one. "What do you care, Nic?" He asked her.

"What's wrong?" She asked kneeling down and taking the beer from him.

"What's wrong?" He mocked her voice and sat up a bit on his elbows staring in to her sad brown eyes. He felt a sour taste in his mouth as he coughed and spit off to the side. "Everythin', Nicole, every'fuckin'thin…" He cursed

"You were doing great, what happened?" She asked him.

"You wanna know what happened?" He asked raising an eyebrow as she took a seat next to him.

"Tell me Jeff, what sparked this?" She asked. "You tore my house apart…" She swallowed hard. "There was blood on the carpet…" She pointed to his hand that had some dry blood left on his knuckles. They were bruised and raw.

"I found them," He stated his face stoic, not showing any emotion at all. "I fuckin' found'em…"

"What?" She asked confused. "What'd you find Jeff?"

"The fuckin' love letters from Shannon…" Jeff stated standing up on his two feet, stumbling a bit on the way up.

_Love letters? From Shannon?_ She was confused at first and then she remembered she had kept several of Shannon's notes. Some of them were up in a shoebox in her closet, two were tucked away in her Indian porcelain jewelry holder Jeff had bought for her.

"Jeff," She started to explain.

"Oh no…" Jeff wagged his finger at her. "I figured it out…" He smirked at her, circling the area… his swagger reminding her of Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean.

"Figured what out?" She asked him.

"You 'n fuckin' Shannon…" He swaggered past her and turned back around sharply, putting a finger out in the air. "You both have been lyin' to me… your best fuckin' friend…" He stated shaking his head. "I never thought you'd stoop that low on me, Nic…"

"Lying to you?" She questioned standing up her forehead pinched together in confusion as she tried to make sense of what Jeff was saying. "I've never lied to you about anything…" She countered his accusations.

"Really?" Jeff pursed his pink lips together. "Because I figured that everyone knew…" He flailed his arms out in exasperation. "Everyone, but me…" He pointed to himself. "Your li'l love affair…"

"Love affair?" She asked him, how had he come upon that. Sure Shannon had written her love notes… telling her how much she meant to him. And how he wished things hadn't been the way they were and that they were still together. A part of her had wished the same, but a part of her knew better. "Jeff, Shannon and I are not having a love affair…" She shook her head. "And even if we were, we wouldn't have kept it from you…"

"But you have…" His voice was low as he stared at her; he grabbed on to her biceps forcefully and pulled her closer to his body. "You've been wit'im for a long time…" Jeff accused as he locked eyes with her. "Did you ever even break up to begin with?" He asked her.

"Jeff, you're hurting me…" She whispered, pain shooting through her arms.

"You don't deny it…" He pushed her back a little, his grip still hard on her.

"Nothing, _nothing_," She exaggerated heavily on her words. "Is going on between Shannon and I anymore…" She pointed out to him. "Jeff, nothing…"

"I don't believe it… the letters Nicole… the letters…" He stated angrily. "He went behind my back…" He stated angrily letting her go. Nicole's fingers wrapped around her arms and felt a sting of tears coming, a sting to her nose as she tried to stop them.

"He didn't…" She shook her head. "Shannon knows…" She whispered softly. "He knows that I can't love him back that way…" Her voice rose as she stared at him. His eyes were narrowed in on her, accusations running wild behind the pools of green. She felt like Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter, at that very moment, as if she had committed the worst sin possible. "He's written me a lot, Jeff," She stated. "But I turn him down every'time… I turn him down and he understands why… but he keeps trying…"

"Why?" Jeff asked demandingly. "Why?"

"Why, what?" She asked her teeth clenched.

"If you care about'im, if you love him… why aren't you with'im?" Jeff asked his tone venomous.

Nicole had enough of his attitude; she had enough with explaining herself to him. It was time to lay everything on the line. She took a deep breath and fought the tears that were threatening to fall.

Her face turned red, her blood pressure rising as she stared at him, hurt that he would toss around these accusations. Jeff usually was not that type of person, he liked to have facts, and tangible facts at that. She took a deep breath and didn't falter eye-contact with him, "Because of you,"

Jeff's hard expression altered, he couldn't believe what she was saying, could he?

"I love you, Jeff…" She stated grabbing his shirt in her small fists and staring up at him. "So much so that I can't be with anyone else, because it just doesn't feel right…" She cried.

Salty tears fell from the corners of her eyes, she let go of his shirt and found her way back out of the rubbish. Jeff watched her walk away, registering the information she had just said in her outburst. She wasn't with Shannon because of him, because she _loved_ him.

Jeff's brain was able to register this information and pushed through any obstacle to catch up with her. She was halfway through the woods that separated their houses. He remembered when he bought the land, her parents had left her the house and the land, and the land next to hers was for sale. He had told her that he'd always be there for her.

So he purchased it, and built his house on it.

He ran to catch up with her, tripping over limbs he grabbed on to her arm and swung her around. The force was so great, Nicole was pressed up against his chest, tears staining her cheek as Jeff looked down at her. Any buzz that he had, had was gone. He was completely sober, and feeling the affects of the alcohol leaving his system, and the withdrawal hitting him.

"I love you," He told her. "I always have loved you…"

"This can't happen," She shook her head pressing her palms firmly in to his chest.

"You love me, I love you… w hat's the problem? I don't see a fuckin' can't…" He stated his hands on her upper arms again.

She pushed away from him and looked up in to his beautiful eyes, feeling her heart beat quicken, she swallowed roughly, her mouth running bone dry, "Jeff… we're working on you right now… that's difficult enough… throwing in a relationship… especially when you JUST broke it off with Beth two weeks ago, its just not healthy…"

"You're not my rebound girl, if that's what you're thinking…" He pointed out leaning back against a tree.

"Jeff you can't even go a day without wanting to get that high, to give in…" She felt the tears welling in her eyes. "I can't let myself be with you, wondering every minute if you're going to slip back in to your old ways…"

"I won't," Jeff pulled her face in to his hands, his thumbs wiping away the tears.

"I've heard that before, and you never follow through…" She placed her hands on top of his, and pulled them away from her face.

"If I'm with you, Sugar… I don't need it… I don't need any of it…" He whispered.

"Jeff, can we please… just get through the next several weeks without you using?" She asked him. "Then we can talk about us…"

"Talk about?" Jeff scoffed as he stared down at her. "I don't want to talk about us; there is no reason to talk about it…"

"Jeff, please…" She whispered looking up at him. "I don't want this all pushed on you right now… we need to take things slowly…"

Jeff's nose twitched as he looked away at where his home used to be. He had to get his life back in order. He had waited over a decade for her, what was a few more weeks? He didn't say anything else to her, but simply nodded his head in understanding.

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**So... tell me what you think?**


	9. Once and For All

**I can't tell you how much I love you all... seriously. I do. You guys blow me away with your responses... Alright enough with the sappiness lets get on with the story shall we?**

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**Chapter 09**_**  
O**__nce And For All_

The sound of her blender woke her up, her brown eyes snapped open and she looked around the dark room. She glanced down at the empty spot next to her and wondered where Jeff was. Rubbing her temples she felt the throbbing behind her eyes.

Memory flashed back in to her head, and she remembered that she had made Jeff stay in the spare room after their confessions only days ago. Jeff had really shaped up since then. Nicole knew that he was trying to prove that he could do this. He could beat his addiction, and he could do it for them.

Her long arms pushed the covers off of her body, letting her long legs fall over the side of the bed. She tossed on her blue terry cloth robe; scurrying in to the kitchen she kneaded the heels of her palms in to her eyes, rubbing away the sleep.

There he stood in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts, his hair in small little braids she had put in last night, fixing them a smoothie. She smiled seeing that he was up and moving, he had spent the last two weeks in bed until well after noon.

"You're up early…" She stated as he poured her smoothie in a glass for her.

"I'm going in to the shop today," Jeff shrugged his shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Nicole eyed him over and remembered Shannon was in town, he had stopped by briefly yesterday but for some reason Jeff had been in a sour mood. "I need to talk to Shan, and then Shane and I are going to the gym…"

Nicole looked over at him and shook her head; he was going to have a 'talk' with Shannon. She could feel it deep down. This might not turn out to be such a great day after all.

They drank their smoothies in silence and headed off to the Shop. It was still early but Friday's tended to be a very busy day. They arrived and the shop was closed still, she was sure Shannon was on his way up.

Taking out her keys she unlocked the front door and turned everything on, opening up shop as D liked to call it. Jeff sat down at the front desk and thumbed through the schedules. Nicole walked back to Shannon's office and unlocked the door. She removed her files from his desk and was about to walk out when Shannon walked in.

"What's Jeff doing here?" He asked, obviously not in a good mood.

"He wanted to come by and talk to you," She told him holding her sketches to her chest.

"About?" Shannon asked taking a seat at his desk; he ran a hand through his blonde tresses and waited for her to answer. His light green eyes lingering over the skin she was showing today.

It wasn't every day that Nicole showed off her tattoos, she wasn't ashamed of them, but they were all somewhat personal and she liked to keep it that way, but today she was putting most, if not all, of them on display. She had all of hers in places that were easy to hide, except for a few that were small and unnoticeable at first.

His favorite had to be the intricate mix of veins and flowers that formed wording if you looked close enough. He had been there for each session, she had been strong through the entire thing, and didn't even cry. Shannon let a small smile lift on to his lips at the thought of those days. They had been together then, young and happy, how he wished they could be again.

"Shannon, my face is up here…" She pointed to her smirking mug and he grinned to her, standing up again.

"Yeah, but the rest of you is just so beautiful…" He shot back at her.

Nicole groaned and pushed him away, "I don't know what he wants to talk to you about, but I can tell you that it probably won't end too pretty…" She whispered.

"Send him back," He glared at her as she left.

_Great, just fuckin' great_… He thought to himself, that's all he needed was to have to deal with Jeff right now.

Nicole came back to the front and noticed the scowl on Jeff's face as soon as she walked up to him, "What's wrong?" She asked.

"You were back there for awhile," He commented.

"Shannon _is_ my boss… and since when do you get so possessive?" She asked him questioningly.

"Don't play with me, Nic…" He stated seriously as he stood up.

"I'm not playing with you for Christ's sakes Jeffrey… Shannon said go ahead back…" She turned on her heel and walked to her room.

She hadn't known that any of the other artist were there yet, she sighed heavily when she saw Tizzie poke her head in to the room. Tizzie, though she liked to be in everyone's business, was a bit of a mother hen sometimes.

"You ok, doll face?" Tizzie asked.

"I'm good Tiz, sorry you had to hear that…" She apologized. "There's a lot of tension there… between the three of us right now,"

"I can feel it… well if you need to talk; you know where I am…" She offered a friendly smile before leaving the dark haired girl to do her work.

Shannon was ripped out of his paperwork as soon as Jeff slammed the door shut behind him. Light anxious green eyes met dark, almost menacing green ones; Shannon wasn't going to be intimidated by his best friend.

"What's up Jeff?" Shannon asked putting his pen down, he wanted to get down to it. He wanted to know what the hell was up with his best friend that was putting a rift in their relationship.

He swallowed as Jeff crossed his arms over his chest; he got the same feeling that Nicole had earlier. This wasn't going to end well, not at all.

Nicole was brought out of her daze when a familiar voice greeted her. Instinctively she turned around a smile plastered on her beautiful face as she leaped in to the arms of the dark haired man. He caught her with a laugh and hugged her tightly; it was good to see her. He hadn't been around much and there was nothing more that he missed then her dry sense of humor.

"Shane," Those chocolate brown eyes smiled at her.

"Nicki baby, what's up?" He asked her coolly. Though she had seen him only two weeks ago, she missed seeing Shane Helms on a regular basis.

"Not too much, just hanging out… Jeff is uh… talking to Shannon,"

"That's cool… gives us time to catch up on the last several months…" He grinned at her. "So, tell me… how's he been?"

"I want you to stop," Jeff stated sternly.

Shannon looked at his best friend, confused. Pushing himself up from his desk, "What are you talking about?"

"The letters Shan, the songs… no more…" Jeff's voice was laced with seriousness. Something Shannon hadn't heard from the youngest Hardy in a long time.

"This is about Nicki…" Shannon sighed.

"Of course this is about Nic, God damnit, Shannon…" Jeff growled angrily. "It's always been about Nicole…"

Shannon winced; it was a very rare occasion when Jeff Hardy called his best friends by their first, full names. He sat on the corner of his desk looking at Jeff; he rubbed his hands over his face, his heart pounding in his chest.

"I haven't written her anythin' in awhile, Jeff..."

"Because you've made it verbal now," The older man accused.

"Not that it matters," Shannon quipped. "I never stood a chance against the almighty Jeff Hardy!"

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean?" Jeff's eyebrows slammed together in frustration, he could feel a headache coming on, and it was coming strong.

"Exactly what it sounds like Jeff," Shannon pushed off of his desk, stepping closer to the taller man. "I was always second best to you," He pointed out. "You're the reason we broke it off…" He pushed his index finger in to Jeff's chest. "We broke it off because she couldn't love me back, Jeff because she was so fuckin' in love wit' you."

Jeff didn't know how to respond. He watched as Shannon sat back down behind his desk in a huff. He stared at his best friend long and hard, waiting for him to crack. He didn't say anything; he picked his pen back up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I have a lot of shit to do today," Shannon mumbled glaring up at him.

Jeff knew when to back off, when to let Shannon go. He took the hint and left his best friend's office without another word. He walked in to Nicole's room to see her laughing and talking with Shane who was dressed down in a pair of black track pants and a hunter green muscle shirt.

"You ready to go?" Jeff asked clapping his hands together awkwardly.

Nicole looked up and saw the look in his eyes; she knew that it hadn't gone as she'd hoped. One of them had been hurt, if not both of them. She pursed her lips together as Shane pecked her cheek and left with Jeff who barely whispered a good-bye to her.

Nicole still had a bit of time before her first client was do, she decided to take this time to talk to Shannon and see what was going on between him and Jeff. She walked in to his office and found him swamped under stacks of papers that were being pushed around his desk in an unorthodox fashion.

"Hey," She stuck her hands in to the back pocket of her jean skirt.

Shannon's eyes snapped up at the sound of her voice and he looked back down at his paperwork, "Hey…" He started jotting something down and tapping away at a calculator.

Nicole sighed, closing the door behind her she sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, "What happened?" She asked nosily.

"Nicki, this ain't the right time or the place for this…" Shannon stated as he exasperated a loud sigh.

"I'm not on the clock, Shannon… we're best friends… we can talk about anything at any time…" She pointed out.

"Look, we just had it out, ok?" Shannon threw his pen down. Nicole didn't say anything; she just stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate for her. After a short pause Shannon looked up at her, his light-green eyes staring in to her dark brown ones. "Why did you show him the notes… and the songs?" He asked.

"I didn't…" She said lowly.

"How did he find them?" Shannon asked pushing his hair out of his face.

"He ended up tearing my house apart earlier this week, looking for something… anything to curve his craving…" She swallowed hard. "He found two of them, that I had stashed on my dresser…" She was nervous for some reason.

"They were on your dresser?" Shannon's voice showed his interest now.

"Yeah," She nodded. "But he found them, read them I guess… and he came up with his own conclusion that we were secretly going out behind his back still… or that we had never broken up… or whatever…"

"He told me not to write you anymore," Shannon fidgeted with his pen. "He wanted to know why I started tellin' you verbally, instead…" He tugged at his blonde locks in frustration. "But I told him it didn't matter, I told him the truth. I told him why we broke up…"

"You did?" She swallowed uncomfortably. "_And_… what happened?"

"_And_, he didn't say anythin'…"

"Nothing?" She asked to clarify.

"He stood there, and that was it, Nicki…" He shook his head.

"He didn't say anything to me when he left with Shane, barely even a goodbye…"

"What happened between you two while I was gone?" Shannon asked pushing the thought of work out of his mind. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted every detail so he knew what he was up against, what he should expect from his two best friends.

Nicole eyed Shannon, she trusted him with everything she had, and knew that he needed to know what happened between them. Their conversation at Jeff's burned down house, and in the woods. He needed to know where her feelings were… once and for all.

* * *

**Well damn, Shannon and Jeff... Jeff is putting his foot down... and Shannon is well... being Shannon. Those two sexy mo'fos... I heart them. And I heart you if you review!**


	10. Say the Word

**Amazing, that's what I think of you all. You're making this much to easy for me! I love you for it! Theres a bit of drama, and a little bit of smut... but we all need it once and awhile now, don't we?  
**

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**Chapter 10**_**  
S**__ay the__Word_

It had been about a week since Nicole had seen any signs of withdrawal from Jeff. They were living commonly and things seemed to be, finally, settling back to normal. Everything that was except for the relationship between Shannon and Jeff, which had only worsened since they squared off against each other at Gas Chamber Ink.

Matt was lucky enough to have the next week off and was spending it training with Jeff and Shannon. Nicole had taken the day off to go with them, just to see her boys in action again at the old Omega ring.

They were on their way to meet up with Shannon, and Shane who had stayed around town to hang with them, and get a little practice in. Nicole was sitting quietly in the backseat listening to the sound of Pearl Jam from the speakers.

"Don't you ever get tired of listening to the same CD s over and over again?" She asked cautiously, her eyes meeting Matt's in his rearview mirror.

"I could never get tired of Pearl Jam," He stated with a lopsided grin.

"Well, I do… so change it… please…" She begged as she flopped down in the cramped backseat of his Corvette.

Matt sighed, "Fine, what would you like to listen to princess?"

"I don't know… anything but Pearl Jam…" She whined graciously in the back.

Jeff laughed a bit as he pressed the eject button and searched through Matt's CDs for something decent to listen to. He popped in a non-Pearl Jam mixed CD to see what was on it. The first song that came blaring through the speakers he stuck his nose up at and turned it swiftly, skipping through several songs until finally landing on a song he knew.

Nicole sat back; the strong voice of Mark Chavez flooded her ears as the beginning cords of the Adema song "Giving In" played over the speakers. She listened to the lyrics and swallowed hard, her brown eyes finding their way to watch Jeff's reaction as he mouthed the words to the song.

She didn't find one, not until the song got to the chorus. She had so those words to him so many times, told him that he was Giving In… that he was going to let his addiction take him under. She had been right, for the most part.

Before the song finished Jeff had changed it, sulking silently in his seat as Nicole kept her mouth shut, not wanting to upset the younger Hardy brother. They arrived at the gym and got out of the car without any words being spoken between the three of them.

Shannon and Shane were already there, and in the ring. As soon as they entered the two men stopped what they were doing and greeted the trio that had walked in, all looking a bit somber.

Shane not being a fan of tension, or drama flipped over the rope and landed on his feet in front of them, wrapping his arms tightly around Nicole who squealed, causing everyone to laugh at them. The two of them together always meant two things, fun and trouble.

"You gettin' in to the ring?" He asked her.

Nicole looked at her attire and smirked, "Do I look like I'm getting in to that ring?" She asked.

"No," Shane pouted.

Nicole laughed and gave his cheek a pat, "Then there's your answer hot stuff…"

Shane smirked and looked up at Shannon, "Smell that? What's that I smell?" He smirked back at Nicole and looked at Jeff. "I think I smell some jealousy in the air…"

Nicole laughed and pushed him away from her, "Come on… I want to be entertained…" She clapped her hands together and took a seat in one of the fold out chairs that adorned the nearly empty room.

Jeff and Matt warmed up, stretching and preparing to take on Shane and Shannon. Nicole was in to it, she was standing up now, beating the mat as she called out Shane's name. He was on the mat selling an injury as Jeff climbed the top rope.

Shane rolled out of the way as Jeff tried to nail him with the Swanton bomb. She grinned as Shane rolled over to Shannon and tagged him in. Nicole's gut did an internal flip, they hadn't been in the ring together the entire match, and now… now they were going to be beating on each other.

"Let's go Jeff…"Matt clapped his hands as his brother stood up to his full height.

The two natural blondes stared each other down, Nicole felt like everything was caught in slow motion. They locked up, Jeff's face showing the true aggression coming out. Nicole closed her eyes as Shannon was pulled in to a headlock, which he turned around and gave Jeff a standing drop kick.

The two battled it out until they could barely move, Matt and Shane yelling at them to tag them in. Both older men knew that this was personal. They knew that this was going to end badly if they didn't separate the two.

"Matt," Nicole was staring up at the dark haired man; he could see the concern in her eyes. "I think you need to step in… soon…"

Matt nodded his head as he yelled to Shane. Shane nodded his head and the two climbed in to the ring and pulled the two best friends apart. There was definitely a rift between them, a dark haired one that was standing on the outside of the ring.

Matt held his brother back as Nicole climbed on to the ring apron. Jeff was cursing angrily as Shannon shot daggers at him, Shane trying his best to restrain him.

Nicole grabbed Jeff's arm as Matt backed him in to the turnbuckle, "Don't do this Jeff," He glared at her.

"I'm not doing anythin', Sugar…" Jeff's teeth were clenched tightly. "We were jus' wrestlin'"

"No you were beating the hell out of each other,"

Nicole gave him a hard look; she jumped down from the apron. She could feel Jeff's eyes on her as she walked towards Shane and Shannon. Jeff stopped fighting his brother watching her carefully while Shane and Shannon exited the ring.

Her brown eyes narrowed in on Shannon who was staring at her, openly.

"What the hell was that about?" She asked him in a hushed tone.

"We were jus' wrestlin'…" Shannon's words echoed Jeff's earlier statement.

She couldn't believe how alike they truly were, rolling her eyes, "More like trying to kill each other…"

Shannon yanked the ponytail holder out of his hair and let his blonde hair fall around his face, never breaking eye contact with the younger girl, "Look this is between Jeff and me…"

"It needs to end…"

"It'll end when he stops being a fuckin' prick…"

"No, it needs to end now, Shannon…"

"How do you expect that to happen, Nicki?" Shannon asked her harshly.

Nicole paused and looked at him worriedly, "I don't know…"

Jeff watched the interaction between the two friends. Their heated whispering was irking him, he didn't like their closeness at all. He grabbed the top rope and flipped himself out of the aged ring. Nicole saw him coming and turned her body to face him, standing in front of Shannon. They couldn't do this… they just couldn't.

Jeff's green eyes narrowed in on the blonde man, "You and me, one match…"

"No, absolutely not…" Nicole refused.

Shannon ignored her, "You're on,"

"No," Nicole turned around and looked Shannon in the eye. "You're not doing this…"

"Next week," Jeff pressed.

"Wednesday," Shannon confirmed, ignoring Nicole again.

"Shane, talk some sense in to them, please…" She asked the dark haired man.

"I think they're got their minds made up, Nicki…"

"This is ridiculous, Matt?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe they should do it…"

Nicole stared at them in disbelief. They couldn't be serious, could they? She turned back around to look at Jeff; his eyes were locked with Shannon's. Neither of them were backing down. They had made up their minds. Nothing she would say or do was going to change that.

"I want to go home," She stated looking over Jeff's shoulder to his brother.

Matt nodded his head.

She didn't' say anything the entire trip home. She was pissed, she was upset, she was confused and she was overly tired.

Matt dropped her and Jeff off at her house. Nicole went straight to her room; Jeff was hot on her trail.

"Are you just not going to talk to me?" He asked her.

"When I tried to talk, you didn't listen…" She pointed out angrily, taking a seat on her bed.

"You want this to end," Jeff stated. "It'll end on Wednesday."

"I didn't want it to end like this," Nicole let her hands fall at her sides defeated.

"This is how it has to end, Sugar.' Jeff announced. "Whether you wanna believe it or not."

After a short pause, Nicole sighed, "For the record, I don't like it."

"I don't want you to not talk to me, Sugar…" Jeff ran a hand through his multi-colored hair. "But this has to happen, it has to…"

"Why?" Nicole asked staring up at him. "Why does it _have_ to happen?"

"That's how things are with me and Shane,"

"You promise me after this, it's over?"

"I promise you, Sugar…"

Nicole was in Shannon's office the next day as soon as she entered the shop. Shannon looked up, his light green eyes stared up at her.

"What's up?"

"We need to talk," She told him.

"I'm not backing out of this Nicki," He told her.

"I know that," She sighed. "I just want to know why…"

"Why, what?" He questioned.

"Why you're doing this, why are you going to fight him?"

"It's wrestlin' Nicki," Shan grinned. "It's not like we're cage fightin' or somethin'…"

"With you two, you might as well be…"

"Look," Shannon got up from his desk. He pulled Nicole's face in to his hands. "We have to do this,"

"That's what you both keep saying, but you don't…" She shook her head. "You don't have to prove anything,"

"Yes, we do…" He nodded his head, never letting go of her face.

"Why?" She asked him her heart aching silently as she pleaded with him, "Tell me why the fuck you have to do it?!"

"For you," Shannon pressed his lips to hers.

Nicole didn't have time to react; Shannon's lips skillfully matched hers. His hands traveling from her face to her shoulders, rubbing them gently as he tried to deepen their kiss. Her heart beat quickened as she tried to regain composure of herself.

She pushed her palms against his strong chest, and pulled away. She looked up at him with side eyes.

"We can't do this," She whispered.

Shannon stared at her, "I love you," his voice was low and shaky.

Nicole felt her mouth go dry; her heart was pounding out of her chest. It had been years since a man had said those three little words to her. Years since she felt so much inner turmoil. And now during one of the most difficult times in her life, she was hearing it again. He was the last person to say it to her, the last person she felt it from… and here he was… saying it again.

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**I'm torn, I love Shannon... I love Jeff! Damn them both for being really, really incredibly, unexplainably HOT!! HOPE You enjoyed, and please remember to REVIEW! :)**


	11. Signs

**As always you guys rock! I love you all... so too hold you over for the weekend here's the next chapter... :)**

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**Chapter 11**_**  
S**__igns_

The sound of her machine wasn't enough to ease her mind. Shannon's words were scarred in to her brain. She couldn't escape the feeling in the pit of her stomach, or the sensation she felt when his lips touched hers.

They hadn't spoken since. She left his office after an uncomfortable silence fell between them. She had work to do, and so did he. She had hoped it'd be enough to calm her thought process.

She was wrong.

That's all she could think about. Shannon had told her on many occasions that he loved her. He'd never been afraid of his feelings. But she had never heard them out of Jeff's mouth. The once in the woods, but he had been drinking, he had been emotional, and though she wanted to believe it was true, she couldn't hang on to those words.

And she couldn't believe that it had been in that context.

_Was it a sign?_ She wondered.

Taking the moistened paper towel she wiped the area of the access ink, the tanned skin with purple outline stared back at her, waiting to be tattooed. Craving the needle to puncture the skin.

How was she going to get through this next week? How was she going to concentrate on her job? She had to deal with Shannon everyday as well as Jeff.

What would Jeff do if he knew what Shannon had done? Would he flip?

She took a second to regain her thoughts. She was able to finish the tattoo with minimal thoughts of Shannon or Jeff. Though it was a hard battle, which was nearly lost.

Nicole walked in to the waiting area and saw several familiar faces, one that seemed to make her smile without much thought.

"Phil? What are you doing here?" She asked snapping off her latex gloves.

"Thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing…"

"That's so sweet of you," She smiled at him. "But all the way from Chicago?" She asked, though she was flattered Illinois wasn't exactly North Carolina's neighbor.

"Had some time off, and I've got some remodeling going on so I'm staying with Matt for a couple of days…" He grinned.

"That's cool,"

"Yeah, I thought Jeff might be staying with him, but he's not…" He started, giving her a knowing look.

"Oh," Her smile faded slightly. "He's been staying with me…"

"Matt told me." He nodded his head understandingly. "Withdrawals…"

"Yeah," She looked away not really wanting to talk about the situation of Jeff, she had just gotten both of the naturally blonde wonders out of her thoughts for a moment, and now he was putting them back in.

"That's amazing," Phil stated, he took her chin in his hand. "You're amazing," Nicole turned ten shades of red, completely embarrassed as Phil smirked at her. "Really you are, I hope Jeff can see that…"

"Me too," She stated hopelessly.

"You free for lunch?" He asked.

"I think so, but let me check my schedule…" She gave him a small grin.

"Definitely, I'm gonna go say Hi to Shan," Phil stated before giving her a small smile back and heading in the direction she did not want to go in for awhile.

Nicole smiled heading to the front desk, where Tanya was trying to fit in on of the walk-ins. Noticing that she didn't have any customers for the next hour, she grinned inwardly and cleaned up her room.

Shannon couldn't think. She plagued his brain, everything about her. From the way her hair fell down her back, to the tattoos that scared her skin to the smell of her perfume. Everything about her was intoxicating, and he couldn't think straight.

He was completely consumed by his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open; Phil caught his attention by clearing his throat. Shannon's green eyes snapped up and connected with an all too familiar face.

_What the hell is he doing here? _Was the first thought that jumped in to his mind.

He had heard through the Gas Chamber grapevine that Phil Brooks brought _his_ Nicole out to lunch. He forced a smile on to his lips and stood up welcoming his friend in to his office.

"Sup Shan?" Phil asked.

"I should be asking you that, Phil"

"I'm stayin' with Matt for a few days…" Phil shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, so I decided I'd drop in, check up on Nicole… I'm gonna take her to lunch…"

"Oh you are?" Shannon raised an eyebrow. "Again, huh?"

"Yeah, figured I could do something nice for her… y'know?" Phil stated not catching on to Shannon's hostility. "She's probably under a lot of stress with Jeff and everything…" He pursed his lips together. "Matt's told me a little bit of what she's had to go through, and I just feel terrible that someone like her would have to go through that…"

Shannon suddenly felt ill. He had taken advantage of her when she was at her weakest, at her most vulnerable breaking point. What kind of best friend was he? How come he hadn't thought about that?

"That's cool," Shannon tightened the grip on his pen. "Well, have a good time man… I've got a lot of work to catch up on," He pointed to his desk that was covered with papers.

"Sure man, I understand, just wanted to stop in and say hello…" He gave his friend a grin.

"Of course," He nodded his head.

Phil gave him a slight wave before disappearing in to the shop. He saw Nicole coming back out of her area and smiled seeing her with purse in hand. They didn't say anything to each other, only leaving the shop and in her car.

Shannon couldn't get Phil's words out of her head. It's all he couldn't think about. He had been so stuck on himself that he hadn't stopped to think of her. He hadn't thought about her feelings, or where she was emotionally.

She had been dealing with Jeff and his withdrawals for two weeks now, coming up on the third week slowly but surely, and him coming on to her wasn't helping. He was sure of that. He had to stop thinking with his dick and start thinking with his head.

He loved her; there was no doubt about it, but instead of telling her. He had to show her. He had to be there for her when she needed it, and not by throwing around those three little words or attacking her with his mouth. He had to be nurturing. He had to help her, take care of her.

How could he do this? How could he show her what he really felt?

"So, how are things?" Phil asked taking a bit of the burrito that sat in front of him.

"Much better than the last time you were here," She grinned. "Thank you for asking,"

"I can't say that I know what you're going through, but I can only imagine…"

"You have no idea," She shook her head. "I think this time was worse than the last… and I hope to God it's the last time…"

"Hey, I saw Trainspotting… once…" He grinned at her, trying to make her smile.

He succeeded.

"It makes a big difference when it's real life…" She couldn't help but laugh.

Phil was magical. He could make her laugh effortlessly… he could turn her Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day around. She could definitely see how this Chicago native fit in so perfectly with the North Carolinians, they were all goof balls in their own right and so was he.

"Thank you," She smiled at him as they finished eating.

"For what?" He asked carefully as he tossed their tray in the garbage.

"For lunch, for everything…"

"Just a little friendly conversation, no big deal…" He concurred.

"But it is," She stated fiddling with her keys. "You're right… it's been really hard…"

"I figured as much," He stated pushing his dark brown hair out of his face. "You need a break."

"Yeah, I did… and I thank you for that too…" She smiled. "It can get pretty heavy in that shop, working with Shannon and all…"

"Shannon?" Phil asked confused. "I thought you're troubles were with Jeff?"

"Both," She admitted.

"What's going on with Shannon?" Phil asked. "I know he was kind in a bad mood today, but he seemed pretty busy with paperwork and all…"

"He and Jeff hit a big sour patch… a big one…"

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"A big sour patch, named Nicole…" She pursed her lips together sitting on the hood of her Prius.

"Oh, that kind of sour patch?" Phil pulled his lips together tightly in thought, "I can see where that would cause a problem… or two…"

"Try a big one, in the shape of a match on Wednesday night…"

"A match?" Phil asked.

Nicole nodded and rubbed her forehead, "When we were kids, if anyone of us had a 'beef' with another we'd take it up in the ring. As we got older the tradition just kind of stuck. But, it's been a _long_ time since anyone of us has had a beef with another… so I thought we got over it… were past it… but I guess not."

"That's cute," Phil laughed crossing his arms over his chest. "You used to wrestle?" He asked.

"A little bit," She shrugged.

"What happened with that?" He questioned.

"Well, I kind of lost my interest in it after my parents died… I just never had the heart to do it again…"

"I'm sorry to hear that," He pulled her to him, in a sideways hug. "You haven't gotten in to a ring since then?" He asked her.

"Nope," She shook her head.

"Would it be something you'd be interested in?" He asked.

"I never really thought about it," She shrugged.

"Well, I'd be more than happy to spar with you… or teach you a few things…" He stated with a lopsided grin.

"I'll keep that in mind," She grinned.

Phil glanced down at his cell phone and smirked, "I guess I should get you back, huh?"

Nicole glanced up at the bright sky and nodded her head, "Yeah, I guess so…" She grinned.

Nicole tossed Phil the keys to her car and he gladly drove her back to the shop, She didn't notice any foreign cars in the parking lot and wondered how Phil got there. She voiced her question and he told her what she thought, Matt dropped him off on the way to the gym.

"Take my car, I'll grab a ride home with Shan," She stated tossing him the keys.

"You sure about that, I can wait until Matt gets back…"

"It's cool, I can suffer for a short period of time with him," She grinned. "Thanks again… for everything…"

Phil gave her a genuine smile, "You're more than welcome… you know if you need anyone to talk to… who's not like… related to the situation, just give me a call…" He stated.

"I will, thanks…" She smiled heading back in to the shop as Phil got in to her car and took off.

Shannon watched as she entered the shop, he put on a matching smile and welcomed her back. Nicole looked at him oddly for a second and he didn't let his reaction alter.

"Did you have a good lunch with Phil?" He questioned.

"Yeah," She answered slowly. "It was nice…"

Shannon just nodded, "You're 1 o'clock is here…" He pointed to a middle-aged biker looking guy and she smiled at him.

"Thanks Shan," She was about to walk away when she remembered she had to ask him for a ride home. "You think you can give me a lift home tonight?" She asked.

Shannon's smile grew as he simply nodded his head.

Nicole didn't need anything more than that. Her lips pulled over her teeth in a stiff, straight smile as she ushered her client in to her room, preparing for the next two hours, or rigorous vibration.

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**Had to get some more Phil action in there... he's just getting sexier and sexier to me. First Jeff, then Shannon, now Phil... aye-yi-yi... what's a girl to do?**

**REVIEW**


	12. Falling in to Place

**My god, you guys are incredible. I love you all... :) I'm being mushy, but it's all good.**

_Warning: Smut... and some more smut..._

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**Chapter 12**_**  
F**__alling__ in to Place_

The ride home was awkward to say the least; Shannon almost seemed like a man possessed. He had a completely different demeanor than when she left him earlier that morning. They talked about everything, other than themselves.

Shannon didn't bring up his feelings for her, or Jeff. He just let it be. They talked like there had never been any problems between any of them. At all.

It was almost normal, except for Nicole questioning everything that was happening in her head. She couldn't help but think that something was going on, there was some hidden undertone that she didn't know about. Shannon dropped her off at her house, and didn't even press the issue of giving her a kiss, not on the mouth or even the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked her.

"Yeah," She nodded her head and noticed her Prius was parked out front next to Jeff's car.

Shannon tossed her a wave before pulling out of her driveway. She slowly waved back and headed inside to see Phil and Jeff standing in the kitchen talking, heatedly.

"Hey guys," She interrupted them.

The two men stopped talking and smiled at her, Jeff's was forced whereas Phil's seemed so natural. She put her things down and walked in to the kitchen to find her table set for dinner, and the aroma of something in the oven hitting her nostrils.

"How was work?" Jeff asked trying to push his conversation with Phil Brooks out of his mind.

"Alright, Phil… what's up?" She asked looking between the two.

"Nothing, just catching up with Jeff… I should probably get going now… Matt and I have a date with disaster…" He grinned goofily.

"Oh?" She asked curiously.

"I'm going to own him at Halo 2…" Phil elaborated.

"Ah, well have fun with that…" She grinned. "See you later,"

Phil gave her a kiss on the cheek before he lifted his hand to Jeff and left the house. Nicole turned to Jeff, her house guest and wondered what was going on before she walked through the door. The look on Jeff's face told her that she wasn't going to find out.

And she didn't like that.

"What's going on?" She asked looking at the table, if she was going to find out, or get anymore information she had to play her cards right. She couldn't press the issue right away. She moved towards the oven and noticed it was on.

"Decided I'd do somethin' special for you," Jeff grinned taking her hand and pulling her flush against him.

"Well, Mr. Hardy… it smells delicious…" She untangled herself from him, not wanting to be put in a compromising situation.

Jeff watched her walk towards the table and her eyes lit up seeing the spread that was adorning her kitchen table. He grinned and pushed the thought of her with Brooks out of his mind. A small grin placed itself on his lips as the timer went off.

"Everything looks amazing, Jeff…" She stated as he took out the food from the oven. It was lemon chicken, one of his mom's old recipes.

"I've put you through hell and back in the last few weeks, so I thought you deserved a nice home cooked meal…" His smile was contagious, she watched him put the food down. She couldn't contain herself.

She tossed herself in to Jeff's unsuspecting arms and hugged him as tightly as she possibly could. If she had ever had one thing that she wanted most it was this; to come home, Jeff waiting for her with a home-cooked meal on the table.

She felt like she was dreaming, she fit perfectly in to his arms. His chin rested on the top of her head, and those strong arms laced around her lifting her up slightly as she hugged him forcefully. The older man let out a small laugh as he pulled away.

"You're welcome…" He responded to her almost inherent babblings of Thank Yous. She was still hugging him and Jeff looked down at her, "Do you want to eat?" He questioned. "Cause I'm pretty content with this… if this is what you want to do all night…"

Nicole's smile widened as she nodded, it had been ages since she had some of Ruby Hardy's lemon chicken. It was absolutely delicious. The night panned out to be perfect. It was almost like her dream date with Jeff, without the dating.

She was finishing up the dishes when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her middle. She fought off the initial reaction to relax back in to his arms, and just stay there. Instead, she stiffened her back and turned quickly, catching him off guard.

"What's up?" She asked pushing her bangs out of her face.

"There's a Friday the 13th marathon on, you want to watch it?" He asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

She pursed her lips at him and scowled, he knew that she wasn't the biggest fan of scary movies, especially Friday the 13th movies. There was something about a brother trying to hunt down his sister and kill her that freaked her out. However, the series was one of Matt and Jeff's favorites, so she agreed.

"If I'm up all night having nightmares, I'm crawling in to bed with you…" She poked him in the ribs.

"Maybe that was the plan…" Jeff gave her a devilish grin and she gave his arm a hard swat.

She should have known he had some kind of ulterior motive, even if he was just kidding. A part of her figured he was, but another part was hoping that he was serious. She curled up on the couch, Jeff next to her as he turned the channel to the station that was hosting the marathon.

As the first movie started she stole a glance at Jeff, he was staring at the TV intently. Even through everything they had been through he didn't let that affect his appearance. Though he had bags under his eyes, his skin was tanned; his hair was freshly dyed and his beard had a new design shaved in to it.

He was beautiful.

She had always thought so, he was different and that was what drew her to him. He didn't care what everyone thought about him. He did things his own way, and didn't make excuses for it.

That was one of his many traits that she fell in love with.

Jeff could feel her staring at him, those dark brown eyes were eying him from head to toe. He took a chance to glance at her and she didn't tear her eyes away from him like most people would do if they were caught staring. She didn't care.

That's how Nicole was, she would stare at someone, and let them know it. She didn't care if it was polite or not. That wasn't her style. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, and how she wanted to do it. Perhaps that was one of the things that brought them so close.

They were a lot a like, but were very different at the same time.

"Like the view?" He asked her in a joking manner.

"Love it," She grinned before turning her attention back to the TV.

It had been a long night like she had expected. She jumped and screamed like a twelve-year-old little girl watching her first scary movie, and ended up sleeping on the couch with Jeff's arms around her protectively.

Nicole woke up the next morning and felt a familiar sensation throughout her body. The warmth that was coming from Jeff, the touch of his skin on hers, made her entire body quiver. Butterflies were wrecking havoc on her stomach as she opened her eyes.

His serene face stared back at her, his eyes were close, his lips parted ever-so-slightly, and his cheeks flushed a bit from sleeping. He was picture perfect right now. Pieces of his blue hair were falling in to his face; she moved them with her index finger, letting her hand trail down his face gently.

How could she be in such a difficult spot? How could she keep saying 'No' to him? Where had she found the strength to do it? Had it been several years ago, she would have crumbled to his feet. She would have given up everything just to be with him, like this.

Where had she gotten so much will power? Any other day she would have melted in to him if he had just tossed that sultry look her way. Those deep green eyes baring his soul, baring his everything to her. But she fought it.

Maybe it was fate.

Maybe it was God.

Maybe it was just her being a crazy, obsessive-compulsive person who over analyzed everything, and didn't feel that taking advantage of someone during their weakest moment was a good idea.

_Yeah,_ she thought_, definitely the last one_.

On one hand she had Shannon; a man that she knew loved her. Beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt was madly, head-over-heels for her and had told her on many occasions.

On the other she had Jeff; a man that she had been in love with since she knew what love was. Since she had found out about what the feelings were in her stomach every time he smiled at her, every time that he had touched her. The man that she once thought she was going to marry and bare his children.

But did she love Shannon back? Better yet, could she love Shannon back?

Did Jeff love her? Did he love her in the same sense that Shannon did? Or were his feelings coming from his break up with Beth? The loss of his house and dog? Or the withdrawals?

Nothing was making sense to her, she couldn't figure it all out, and being here, wrapped up in this warm embrace of the once person she had dreamed of her entire life. It just felt sort of wrong. It felt like something wasn't right.

But on top of it, it felt natural.

"Fuck," She muttered.

She was over analyzing again. Taking everything out of context and trying to analyze every ounce of being that she had. Every thought that crossed her mind, every move that she made, it had been calculated, diagnosed and executed after a long thought process, but this… this was different.

How can you analyze love?

Love was spontaneous. Love was irresistible. Love is the feeling that nothing can stop you. Love was something that couldn't be made. Love was forgiveness.

Forgiveness.

That word made her think of Jeff.

Jeff made her think of Love.

But did he think of her? Did he see her in the same way that she saw him?

He had told her he loved her, but had he meant it? Was she really just Beth's rebound? Or had he been hiding these feelings for her. Had he encompassed those feelings for all these years, just as she had done?

"You're giving me a headache…" Jeff mumbled shaking his head.

"Excuse me?" She whispered.

"You're thinking too hard…" Jeff stated a lazy grin on his pink lips.

"How did you know…"

Before she could finish Jeff propped himself up on his elbow, "You get this intense look on your face. Your nose is scrunched up, the vein in the middle of your forehead protrudes, and your eyes narrow in on something far away…" He analyzed her.

Her mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out.

"And those lips pull together in this amazingly sexy pout…" He let his fingers caress her bare arm and she let a grin slip on to her face.

She couldn't say anything, and she didn't have to. Jeff knew her. He knew what she was thinking. She could tell. He pulled her in to a tight embrace and placed a kiss in to her hair.

"I have to get ready for work," She muttered in to his chest.

"I know," He whispered not letting her go.

"Seriously, Jeff…" She laughed against his chest.

"I know, but I don't want you to…" He pouted letting her pull away slightly.

She pushed herself up and untangled her body from his. Her body regretted it, his body heat was keeping her warm, it was making her feel all cozy and now it was vacant. The butterflies in her stomach settled and her body stopped responding to his touch.

She placed a kiss on his cheek and headed to her room. She had to take a shower, she had to do something where she could keep thinking or analyzing without having to explain herself to the multi-colored man in her living room.

Jeff watched her walk in to the bedroom, the shower turned on and he sat back blowing out a breath. The things she did to him should be against the law. He tried to will away the feelings that were rumbling deep within him, but he couldn't shake them.

He loved her. He had for a long time. But it was a big risk for them. With Shannon, with Beth. And their friendship was all at risk. He had realized though, while talking to Phil yesterday that he had to take a risk.

Love was worth fighting for, it was worth risking everything. He hadn't realized it until she jumped out of his arms this morning that he was risking more by not taking that risk.

Jeff swallowed his pride; he walked in to her room and heard the light humming coming from her as she stepped in to the shower. He discarded the t-shirt he was wearing, tossing it on her unmade bed, and slipped out of his jeans, leaving them on the floor, his lime green boxers found their way in to a pool on the ceramic tile of her bathroom floor.

Jeff took a deep breath and slipped in to the shower, letting the hot water beat heavily on his back. His green eyes locked on the naked figure in front of him, her eyes were closed and she was sweeping the last of her shampoo or conditioner out of her hair.

Before her eyes could open, Jeff pulled her to him, forcefully placing his lips on hers. Claiming her as his. Nicole's eyes shot open, Jeff's lips were pressed hard against hers as she felt his hands roam over her very wet, very naked body.

She felt her entire body spasm under his touch, the feeling of his calloused fingertips over her soft skin made her press against him even harder. Her eyes slowly closed as she welcomed the kiss, letting Jeff's tongue dart in to her mouth, deepening the bond.

Her entire body responded to him, her knees going week as Jeff's hands gripped her muscular ass in his large hands. He used his strength to lift her up; she wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed her back in to the tiled wall.

She wasn't going to stop him; she didn't want to stop him.

Everything about this moment felt so right. There was no time to analyze, there was no time to debate, and it was spontaneous. It was meaningful, and she knew in that moment that everything was going to fall in to place.

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**Y U M M Y ... that's all I have to say. Oh and, R E V I E W!!**


	13. Hurt

**What an amazing response I'm getting... I love you guys... no seriously... I do. Anywho, on to the next Chapter... I don't think this is going to have too many more chapters... I think maybe twenty total... but we'll see how it goes.**

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**Chapter 13_  
H_**_urt_

_"Hey Shan, it's me… you haven't made it in to the shop yet, and I was just getting worried. Call me, k?" _

She had left him that message over an hour ago, and he still hadn't called her. She had been in one of the best moods and it was suddenly killed not seeing Shannon walk through the doors of the shop. She had called him quite a few times with no answer, called his house phone and his cell phone, and nothing.

She called Matt, he hadn't heard from him either; she called Shane, same deal. She was really starting to worry about him now.

A million questions ran trough her mind as she tried to get through all of her clients for the day.

_Where had he gone? Why wasn't he answering the phone and what the hell was going on?_

It was almost the end of her shift when Shannon came through the front door. She excused herself from the person she was with and clutched on to Shannon like her life depended upon it. Shannon let out a gasp as he looked at her oddly.

"Where the hell have you been?" She asked him pulling away, punching his shoulder for good measures.

"I had things to do this morning," He stated shrugging a shoulder.

"Shannon, you had me freaking the fuck out…" She stated staring over at Tanya and Chad who were staring at their interaction.

"I'm sorry…" He stated, his tone showing that he really hadn't meant it, though he was very surprised to see how worried she was about him.

"Why didn't you answer my calls… or call me back?" She asked him, Shannon walked past her towards her office.

"Like I said I had things to do…" He mused opening his office door and watching her come in after him.

"That is not an acceptable answer Shannon Brian Moore," She stated slamming the door behind her. "I was worried out of my freakin' mind for you…" She stated narrowing her eyes at him.

Shannon's lips pursed together as he rolled his neck, "You didn't seem too worried this morning," He stated his teeth clenched together.

Nicole's eyebrows slammed together in confusion, "Excuse me?" She asked. "The first thing I did when I stepped in to the shop this morning was call you… and I did so every fucking hour…"

"Oh no, Nicki…" Shannon shook his head, crossing his arms over his broad chest. He was wearing a cut-off t-shirt and his large tattooed biceps stared back at her. "I mean earlier this morning…" He stated his tongue darting out to lick his lips.

"What do you mean-"

He cut her off, "This morning, when you were fuckin' Jeff…" He mused trying to keep a level head, but those pale green eyes were shooting accusations at her. They showed their hurt now; he wasn't holding back his emotions.

Nicole felt her mouth fall open at Shannon's blunt answer. He had seen them? They were in her shower; she hadn't heard anyone come in. When did he show up, why did he show up?

"When? Wh-why?" She started to stutter out questions.

"I came by this morning, Nicki… to give you a ride to work…" His jaw set as the muscles worked as he tried hard not to yell, or get to angry in the work place. "I wanted to talk to you…" His voice leveled out a bit. "Talk to you about us…" He swallowed hard.

"Shannon,"

"I wanted to tell you that I wanted to give us another shot… I was ok with the fact that you still loved Jeff…" Shannon bit his bottom lip, his green eyes shut for a moment and he looked up at the ceiling. "That maybe, just maybe I might prevail this time…" He shook his head, his tone turning bitter. "That maybe you'd see that you really do love me, even if you love him too…"

"Oh God, Shan…" She felt terrible.

"I walked in, hopin' to surprise you with breakfast," The laugh that came out of his mouth was sour and it made Nicole's skin crawl. She had never seen Shannon so angry, she had never seen him this bitter… at least not since he found his wife in bed with another man. "Called your name out, didn't see or hear you… but I heard noises… comin' from your bedroom." He looked down at the ground; his hands were now at his sides, clenching fists. "So I casually popped in to your bedroom, I see a man's shirt on your bed, then his jeans on your floor, and standin' in the door way I could hear you…"

Nicole stood in complete shock. She didn't feel bad for what she did with Jeff, but she felt bad about how Shannon found out about it. He shouldn't have learned about it this way. It just wasn't right.

"It fuckin' tore me apart inside Nicki," He swallowed hard, she could see the pain in his eyes, he was fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. "When the fuck were you going to tell me, huh?" He asked harshly. "That I didn't have to fight for you anymore because you already fuckin' chose who you wanted to be with…"

"Shannon, that's not how it happened… it's not what you think…" She whispered shaking her head, coming towards him, but Shannon stepped away from her.

"It's not?" Shannon's laugh was dull. "It sure as hell looked like it, Nicole…"

"It just happened…" She whispered. "We fell asleep watching TV last night, on the couch…" She stated sadly. "We woke up, we were talking, and I got up to take a shower. And then there he was, and one thing led to another…" She finished looking up at him.

"Stop," Shannon held up his hand. "You've got a customer, and I don't want to hear it…"

Nicole defeated, walked out of his office, and attended to her customer. Though, her mind was not on the work. It was on the hurt expression on Shannon's face, she had wanted to break it to him in a different way. She didn't want him to find out like this.

It was just wrong.

She finished up and cleaned up her area, she could feel her stomach tying and twisting in knots at the thought. She wanted to talk to Shannon before she left. She walked back to his office and without knocking walked in.

Shannon was staring blankly at his laptop screen, and was snapped out of his daze when she shut the door behind him. Shannon's look sullied as he narrowed in on her. She took a seat and Shannon's eyes were like daggers on her.

Painful.

"Shannon," She started intertwining her fingers in her lap, nervously. "I wanted to tell you myself." She cleared her throat. "I was trying to find the right words all morning, and I'm-I'm so sorry that you found out the way that you did…" She whispered.

Shannon remained silent; he leaned back in his chair, his arms folded over his chest again. His look was dead pan.

"I just wanted to get this out," She told him as she stood up, her nerves making her jittery. "You and I both know that I have loved Jeff for a very-very long time." She began, though the words were stingy her mouth, they weren't causing a positive or negative affect on Shannon Moore. His face was stone-cold and he didn't show any signs of warming up. "But I've loved you for a long time too," She revealed.

The pause from her words was deafening, Shannon shifted uncomfortably in his chair, those eyes the color of peridot, watching her intently as she paced the floor of his office.

"God, I never thought I'd have to do this… y'know…" She pulled at her unruly black hair that splashed in waves around her shoulders. "I never wanted to have to choose between the two of you, it all seems so fucking unfair…" She was ranting, rambling on and probably making a bigger ass of herself than she already had. "It was never a decision I thought I'd have to make.

But for some God awful reason I have to." She told him. "I didn't analyze it this morning, in the shower…" She told him. "I wasn't thinking what the effects were going to be, what the outcome might entail…" She paused. "Shannon I never meant to hurt you and if you believe anything…" She whispered leaning down on his desk. Her palms pushing down on the mahogany. "You have to believe that,"

Shannon didn't respond, he didn't move. She stood there staring at him, waiting for him to say something. Waiting for him to crack a smile, or throw her out. But she didn't get any response. She pushed off of his desk and stared at him for a moment.

She felt her heart pounding out of her chest as she slowly backed up to the door, finding the door handle she let herself out. She didn't say anything anyone, just fled the shop without saying goodbye.

She drove home as fast as she possibly could, and was relieved to see that Jeff wasn't there. She felt her stomach churning uneasily. She ran in to the bathroom and kneeled down in front of the toilet as a wave of nausea passed over her.

She had gotten sick, and the feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't stop.

She turned on the shower and stripped off her clothes, fresh tears were running down her cheeks as she climbed in to the shower. Nicole tried to stand up, tried to wash away the pain that she was feeling, but it was no use.

She leaned against the cold tile, flashes of that morning scoring her brain. The passion, the fury that was in Jeff's kiss, was intense. The feelings that he made her feel as he thrusted himself in to her was mind blowing.

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so much love, so much passion. And all her hopes were crushed seeing the hurt, the pain reflected in Shannon's pale green eyes. It tore her apart to know that she had hurt him so badly.

Her body slowly slid down the wall, leaving her in a crumbled mess. The tears fell freely now, her entire body shaking as she thought about how much she had been through over the years. In such a short amount of time in the last few weeks.

How could she keep battling these demons? How could she quit fighting what her heart was telling her? She couldn't… but she didn't want anyone to get hurt… and they did.

* * *

**So... what do you think? Honestly... tell me the truth... don't bull shit me... LOL... in other words R E V I E W...**


	14. Saint Shannon

**The title of this chapter is so true... Shannon is a saint, especially in this story... I heart him... :)**

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**Chapter 14**_**  
S**__aint__Shannon_

Nicole had been in hell for the rest of the week; Shannon did not speak one word to her, barely did as much as look in her direction. When he was in the shop it was ice-cold. No one dared to talk to him, or her to see what was going on. They could see that it ran deeper than a rift in their friendship.

No one wanted to stumble on to that.

And Jeff, Jeff had been great. He knew that she was torn. He heard about what happened with Shannon from Shane and Matt and decided to stay with Jeff for a couple of days. She had received a phone call from Phil, who offered to come over and talk to her if she needed it.

She refused.

She didn't need more to think about. Seeing Phil made her want to strip off her clothes and do unmentionable things to him, even though they had decided to make their relationship strictly platonic. He sympathized with her feelings, and he had offered to be there, as just a friend.

She didn't want to have to deal with anymore drama. But here it was. Wednesday.

The big day.

Shannon and Jeff were going to square off against one another to settle something that had already been settled. She knew that she was going to give whatever this was with Jeff a chance. She couldn't fight her feelings any longer.

But she knew. They had to do this for them.

Nicole pulled herself together, feeling her stomach tie in knots as a knock came at the front door. She figured maybe it was Jeff coming back to stay with her a bit before his big 'match' against Shannon. Perhaps even Shannon, coming to apologize for his behavior; she was not expecting to come face to face with Jeff's ex-girlfriend, and a woman that she had looked to as a friend for the last several years.

"Beth!" Nicole's eyes grew wide. "What are you doing here?" She asked carefully.

"I heard about the house," She hoisted a thumb in the direction of Jeff's property. "And I heard about Jeff and Shannon having some kind of match today… what's up with that?" She asked looking at her expectantly.

By the look on her face, she could tell that Beth already knew. She just wanted to hear it from her. She cleared her throat and explained that Jeff and Shannon had some issues they had to settle out, and this was their way of doing so.

"So this has nothing to do with…you?" Beth asked not trying to beat around the bush, she never was much for that.

"Even though I'd like to think it doesn't… it does…" She nodded swallowing hard.

"I always knew it…" Beth's face pinched together in concern.

"What?" Nicole looked at her oddly.

"You and Jeff…" She shook her head. "I should have seen it years ago,"

"Beth, this whole thing with Jeff and I just started…" Nicole defended.

"No it didn't…" Beth shook her head. "It started long before me… it started before you were with Shannon…" She stated her teeth clenched together.

"So, what?" She asked tired of fighting with people of this.

"Did you ever fuck him when we were together?" Beth asked her, hate filling her eyes.

"No, of course not…" She shook her head outraged. "I would never do that to anyone… especially not you Beth… I thought we were past all of this…" She stated angrily.

"I just can't seem to get past it…" Beth stated pacing around the living room. "He might as well fucked you several times when I was there… the way he undressed you with his eyes… the way you talked so intimately with each other…" Beth groaned. "No wonder he wouldn't marry me…" Beth growled.

"Beth, I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you guys… I really am… but is there a reason for you visit today?" She asked unsure of herself.

"I just wanted to find out for myself why my ex-boyfriend was going to be wrestling your ex-boyfriend…" She mused. "I figured it was because you couldn't keep you legs closed…" Beth bit back.

Nicole had to harbor all that she had not to strike the bitch down right there. Who the fuck was she to come in to her house and tell her that she was spreading her legs? What did she know? She didn't stay up with Jeff late at night while he puked his body weight in stomach acid and tea. She wasn't around to see him go down a dark road, which she hoped he never had to travel again.

"Get out," She stated sternly, pointing to the door. "Get the fuck out of my house," She stated angrily.

"Touchy," Beth smirked walking back to the door.

"What the hell do you know, Beth?" She asked angrily. "You asked him to give up his career for you…" She laughed. "You didn't care that he was slowly killing himself with the pain killers. You never tried to stop him… you never asked him to stop using them…" She stated opening the door and staring at Beth.

"You don't know me…" Beth started to say but Nicole cut her off.

"And you don't fucking know me, Shannon or Jeff… so stay the fuck out of my business…" She stated angrily slamming the door in Beth's face.

She was ready to rip off her face, to stomp on her like she was a fire. She wanted to put that bitch out of her misery. How could she find the audacity to come to her house and accuse her of these things? Like she knew what she had gone through. Or the pain she was going through right now because of the match tonight.

She was being but through the ringer and she knew it.

Jeff stared at the blonde in front of him, he had found out about Shannon and Nicole's falling out through Matt and Shane. It wasn't until today that he actually had a chance to reprimand the shorter man for ignoring their best friend.

Shannon was trying to pay him no mind. They were both in the gym, working out and going through their reps to get loose for their match later that afternoon. Word had spread like wild fire around Whispering Pines and Cameron. Anyone who was anyone knew about the match, and was going to be there.

"Shannon, we need to talk," Jeff stated as he watched Shannon lift a couple of free weights.

A pair of sharp, light green eyes looked up at him and he scowled at him, "We have nothing to talk about,"

"But we do,"

Shannon stared up at him and stood up to his full height, only a few inches shorter than Jeff. He stared at Jeff and walked to a more secluded area of the gym, knowing that this might not be a friendly confrontation. He folded his arms across his chest and waited for Jeff to say something to him.

"Shannon, this is not Nicole's fault…" He stated in an even tone. "You can be mad at me all day… until you're blue in the face… but you cannot take this out on her…"

Shannon didn't say anything… he just looked at his best friend. A stone-cold expression on his face.

"I love her, Shannon…" Jeff stated as Shannon's gaze met his for a half of a second. "I have for a long-long time… but I was afraid…"

"I wasn't…" Shannon nipped back angrily. "I never was…"

"I know that…" Jeff sighed and sat down as Shannon decided to stay standing. "I respect that, I just… I was afraid that it might ruin our friendship, mine and hers… and I didn't want to risk that. I didn't want to risk your feelings or Beth's…"

"But you ended up doing it…" Shannon remarked dryly.

"I know," Jeff nodded. "But I realized that what I was doing was wrong. I had to take the risk or I was going to be taking a bigger risk by letting her go…" Shannon's face softened as he looked at his best friend, "I love her more than I care to express to anyone… especially her… because I'm scared of what's going to happen… scared if it doesn't work that I'm going to be left vulnerable,"

Shannon couldn't find any words to say.

"She's miserable Shannon…" Jeff stated. "I haven't stayed with her all week, and I just can tell by the look in her eyes… the sound in her voice… this is eating her up… we never meant for this to get to you the way it did…" Jeff cleared his throat.

"I know," Shannon muttered. "But it doesn't make it hurt any less…"

"I know," Jeff nodded. "Just please, talk to her…"

Shannon didn't say anything, he walked back to his free weights and started lifting again, leaving Jeff to wonder if he got through to him or not. After Jeff finished his workout he noticed Shannon's car was gone. He could only hope that the blonde went to make things right with her.

Shannon pulled up to Nicole's house just as a familiar car pulled out of the driveway. Jeff's ex-girlfriend was leaving, her face was red and she looked a bit distraught. He didn't know what to say to her, or how to act around her now.

But the fact that Beth Britt just left her house was itching him with curiosity. He parked his Hummer and walked in to the house; he could hear the water running in the kitchen and walked in seeing her throwing dishes in to the sink.

"You're going to break something," He stated casually watching her turn sheet white and stare at him.

"Shannon," His name escaping her lips was a mix of desperation, confusion and hope. It broke his hear to see her standing there not moving.

Usually she would have catapulted in to his arms, giving him a huge kiss on the cheeks and would be talking a mile a minute. She was just standing there shifting uncomfortably.

"Let's sit down," He suggested pointing to her kitchen table.

Nicole took her hands out of the suds and wiped them off on to the towel. She slowly sat down at her kitchen table and looked over at Shannon who looked like he was having an internal argument with himself. She couldn't blame him. Tonight had turned in to a bigger fiasco then they had hoped, not to mention everything that happened with Jeff, Shannon and Nicole over the last several weeks buried with it.

"Do you know how hard it is to stay mad at you?" Shannon asked her cautiously.

She pursed her lips together, those big brown eyes looking at him, wondering where this was all going to lead to. Another argument? A truce?

"Damn hard," Shannon decided to answer himself. "Fucking hard," He shook his head. "I talked to Jeff… or more like Jeff talked at me…" He mused. "I drove straight here after the gym, and I've been doing a lot of thinking… a lot of thinking… too much for my liking…" Shannon conjured up.

"Shan-" She started in for another apology.

"I don't want you to apologize again, Nicki…" He shook his head. "Just give me a minute to think this out…" he held up a hand. She knew he was terrible when it came to speaking about his emotions, he was so much better at writing the lyrics, or just writing it down in his scratchy handwriting. "I love you," He shook his head. "I don't think that will ever change," He took a deep breath. "I should be man enough to let you go though," He gave her a small smile. "You're still my best friend and so is Jeff… and I should be happy for you…"

She could see the pain reflecting in his eyes, he was doing this for her. He was biting back his feelings, and was going to push them aside so that she could have what she wanted. So she could be happy. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"So if that's what you want," Shannon took another deep breath. "I will support your decision…" He gave her a forced smile.

Shannon stood up and Nicole attacked him, wrapping her arms around him, she literally was ready to squeeze the life out of him. In a good way, of course. A genuine smile placed itself on Shannon's lips as he hugged her back.

He had to be selfless, had to think about her… and not just himself. He didn't want to be on a one-sided relationship. Or have either of his friend's suffering. Maybe he would find someone else, maybe he could fall in love with another girl.

"You are the most amazing person I have ever known…" She whispered to him before placing a wet kiss on his cheek.

"You are the messiest kisser I know," He laughed wiping off his face.

Nicole laughed at him, "Thank you," She looked up at him with doe-like eyes.

"Stop being so mushy, you're going to make me sick…" He gagged with a smirk on his plump lips.

Nicole grinned and looked at the dishes in the sink; she really didn't feel like bothering with them. She wanted to connect with her best friend.

"So, why don't I make you some coffee and you tell me why the hell Beth was here…" Shannon stated heading towards the coffee pot.

"She came here to pretty much call me a leg-spreading whore…"

The way Nicole had said it caught Shannon off guard; it was so nonchalant as if it were the most natural thing in the world for someone to say. She grinned at him and he shook his head.

"And to accuse Jeff of cheating on her with me, while they were together…"

"That's incredible…" Shannon laughed shaking his head as he prepared the coffee.

Nicole glanced at Shannon while laughing. He was making this comfortable for her, so she had to try her best to make it comfortable for him. He was the one, after all, putting everything he felt for her aside so that she could continue her, whatever was going on between her and Jeff.

He was a saint.

After a few minutes passed, Shannon poured each of them a cup and fixed it to their exact specifications. He grinned clinking cups with her and cheers to 'friendship'. She smiled and grinned toasting to him.

"To Saint Shannon…"

* * *

**Lalala... Beth is an evil bitch... but only in this story... I don't know her in person and if she's been with Jeff for so long she's probably a pretty kick-ass biotch... :) **

_R E V I E W_


	15. The Battles

**I h e a r t you!  
:)**

* * *

**Chapter 15**_**  
T**__he Battles_

Though things seemed like they were back to normal, neither blonde Carolinian wanted to back down from the match. It had turned in to an apocalypse of sorts. They arrived at the ring and found that there were people waiting outside to get in. Matt and Shane had been instructed to keep things level and peaceful, and to ward off any press.

That was the last thing that Nicole wanted.

She was sitting with Shannon as he stretched out his legs; he was talking to her about something when a knock came at the door. She looked up and saw the rest of Gas Chamber Ink standing in the door. She gave Shannon's shoulder a squeeze before excusing herself to Jeff's locker room.

"Hey," She smiled at him poking her head to see him sitting with his legs up on the bench, his Ipod plugged in to his ears. He was bobbing his head back and forth getting himself hyped up for the impromptu match.

She walked further in to the room, sitting down behind him and rubbing his shoulders, he jumped at first, but calmed under her deep rubbing. He could feel the warm feeling rumble in his stomach as he leaned back against her, she wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her lips to the nape of his neck.

He pulled the earpieces out and turned to look at her, "Shan told me you guys are good?" He asked carefully.

"Yeah, we're good…" She nodded, though she still had the look in his eyes on her mind. "Things are back to normal," She told him.

"Good," He pulled her in to his lap. "So," He kissed her jaw line, letting his lips flutter against her skin softly. "How about you and I tomorrow night, home cooked meal for two…" He asked carefully.

"Sounds ideal," She grinned kissing him quickly on the lips. "Now, you need to get ready… you should be on in about twenty minutes. I will see you then…" She grinned giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Jeff grabbed her hand and pulled her back, locking lips with her intensely. Their lips fit together in perfection. Nicole could feel her heart pounding out of her chest, as her body temperature rise. Jeff stared at her when she pulled away.

"You'll never make it out there," She whispered against his lips.

Jeff smiled against her pink cushions and pulled away, "Alright, I'll see you in a bit…"

Nodding she gave him one last glance before disappearing out of the door, "Good luck, babe…"

The time came for the match to begin. The old Omega ring was circled by at least a hundred people if not more. Matt and Shane were standing outside of the ring; Phil had come back to North Carolina to referee the match himself.

Nicole looked up and he leaned against the ropes, "How you holding up?" He asked her.

"Fine, everything is fine…" She stated with a small smile. "Thanks for everything, Phil…" She grinned.

"No problem, that's what friend's are for, right?" He asked her.

"Yeah," S he nodded her head and headed towards Matt and Shane. "This is insane…" She stated looking at all of the people.

"Tell me about it," Shane ran a hand through his short hair.

"I can't believe all of these people found out about this… someone really has a huge mouth," Matt stated glaring at Shane.

"Don't blame this on me…" Shane held his hands up in defense.

"Does it really mater now?" She grinned surveying the room.

The guys laughed and looked around the room, two faces stuck out to Nicole though. Two faces she never thought she'd see here, especially tonight. She felt her stomach tighten seeing Beth come through the double doors. Her hair was pulled up and out of her face, her shirt was tighter than she normally wore it and it looked as though she came here to impress someone.

And she knew exactly who it was.

The other face, a face that had not shown itself in nearly a year was back. She was another one that was dressed to the nines for someone special. And again, Nicole knew just who it was.

Crystal Moore, Shannon's ex-wife sat several rose back from where they stood. Her dark brown eyes met hers and she could see the disinterest shining in those almond shaped eyes. If there was one person on this Earth that hated Nicole more than Beth, it was Crystal.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked her carefully looking in the same direction she was.

"Crystal," She muttered as Shane made eye contact with the woman.

"Well I'll be damned…" He muttered as Matt took a look too. He rolled his eyes and put a hand on Nicole's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it…" The long haired man stated with a grin.

"I'm not, but its that…" She pointed in Beth's direction. "That I'm worried about." She stated with a scowl. "She came to my house today…"

"What?" Shane asked confused. "Why would Beth come to your house?"

"To accuse Jeff of cheating on her, and then call me a leg-spreading whore…" She stated angrily. "I wanted to smack the shit out of her… but I didn't…" She stated just as calmly.

"Well don't worry about them… they're nothing right now… we're just here for support… for Shannon and Jeff…"

Nicole nodded her head to Matt and he put his arm around her in a comforting manner. She smiled and took a seat next to them. They were sitting front row, in the best seats, while someone, somewhere played Shannon's theme music from the WWE, the blonde came out bouncing around ready to tango with his best friend.

Though the beef was already settled they were prepared to take each other on. Shannon knew that the odds were against him, but he didn't mind. He liked being the underdog. He heard his music cut off and then Jeff's music started blaring, as the blue haired man came bounding from the locker rooms.

Jeff slid skillfully in to the ring as the two got in the turnbuckles and gave the 'Gunz' and the 'V.1' signs to the attending crowd. A grin played on Nicole's lips as she watched them; this was definitely going to be a long, breathtaking match.

The two men met in the middle of the match next to Phil. They shook hands and backed up in to their corners. The fans started going crazy, the two locked up, and Jeff got Shannon in to a head lock combination. Wiggling mercilessly Shannon fought his way out of it and was able to whip Jeff in to the ropes.

Jeff used the momentum to go for a clothesline on Shannon, but the shorter blonde ducked out of the way and got a drop kick on the taller, blue haired man. Jeff was pushed in to the ropes, holding on as he watched Shannon come around and grab him, giving him a belly to belly suplex.

Nicole winced as Jeff hit the canvas hard, Shannon tried getting the pin, but Phil got to two when Jeff kicked out. She sat at the edge of her seat, her fingernails digging in to Shane and Matt's legs as they watched the match intently.

Jeff was up now, he gained the upper hand on Shannon with a few technical moves he stole from his brother, and was able to get in a Twist of Fate. Nicole cringed seeing Shannon hit the canvas this time. Jeff getting up on the turnbuckle for a Swanton Bomb, but Shannon rolled out of the way.

Shannon was able to grab the match by getting Jeff set up for a swinging neck-breaker; Jeff countered and nailed Shannon with a back-breaker. Jeff tried to get a quick cover, but Shannon lifted his shoulder up when Phil hit the mat the second time.

Jeff grabbed Shannon by the hair and pulled him up, setting him up for his own neck breaker. Shannon was down for a moment, and as Jeff was climbing the turnbuckle again he started to stand. Nicole closed her eyes tightly as Jeff stood up, gave his infamous 'Gunz' and performed his version of Shannon's Halo, a turnbuckle climb in to a rebounded cork screw senton on to a standing opponent.

He his Shannon, but Shannon was able to escape the pin, and get the sore Jeff Hardy to his feet to deliver a standing drop kick, followed by a head-scissors take down. Jeff flopped on to the canvas exhausted.

Nicole could see both blondes gasping for air; she knew they might not last much longer because of the energy they were giving. Jeff was back to his old self she could see. Giving his all in every match, something that he had been lacking lately and she was glad to see it back.

Jeff was backing Shannon in to a turnbuckle, giving him quiet a few chops as Phil got on his case. Jeff stared over at Phil and smirked as he gave Shannon one last chop before pulling him out and Irish whipping him in to a corner. He ran at the younger man, giving him a flying elbow, and Shannon sank down in to the corner, exhausted from their high-impact, high-energy match.

Jeff pulled Shannon up by his leg, and the blonde was able to counter, rolling and kicking the youngest Hardy brother away from him, gathering him some time to rest for a minute. Shannon got up and Jeff was picking him up as he gave Jeff a taste of his own medicine, performing his own Sitout Jawbreaker, on him.

Jeff laid flat on the canvas astonished, Shannon gave him a smirk as he pulled him up by his hair and set Jeff up for his other finisher, the Mooregasm. Hitting the running somersault neck-breaker Shannon leaned against the rope and stole a glance out at the crowd. He noticed her.

Nicole saw it.

He had seen Crystal, and he was staring at her a moment too long when Jeff hoisted him up in to a fireman's carry and performed his own version of John Cena's FU. He climbed to the top turnbuckle and performed a perfect Swanton Bomb on to his best friend, picking up the three counts.

The FU had knocked the wind out of Shannon, he hadn't been paying attention, Jeff nailed him with his finisher and got the easy three. Jeff rolled off of his best friend and gave him a glance, he was coughing. Nicole looked over at Crystal who was standing up and decided to make sure Shannon was ok.

Sliding in to the ring, Nicole along with Matt, Shane, Phil and Jeff were circled around him with concerned looks on their faces. Shannon sat up with some help and let out another whirlwind of coughs. A thousand 'Are you OK?'s rang out at him and the blonde nodded his head.

"Sorry man, I thought you were in to it…" Jeff stated as he helped him up off of the canvas. The group of friends stood up and nodded.

"It's cool; I was just… uh taken by surprise…" He murmured glancing back in to the crowd.

Nicole shot a glance in that same direction he was looking and saw Crystal standing up, a hand to her mouth. She would never forgive Crystal for what she put Shannon through, and she didn't' think he would either.

The crowd cheered as the group of Superstars, plus one, as Nicole put it saluted the crowd and exited to the locker room. She didn't want to put up with the fans, asking questions about who she was. So she slinked back to an empty locker room, which was doubling as a catering area, grabbing herself something to drink.

The guys were meeting with fans and signing autographs afterwards, and she just wanted to go home. The last few days had been way too much for her and she was exhausted. She wanted to grab Jeff and take him home, and that was it.

But they'd be there awhile, she knew it… because Shannon and Jeff were so much alike that it was scary. They had to please EVERY fan. Sign every autograph and take every picture. Though, if she were a fan she would be really grateful that they were both so humble and so fan-friendly.

"What's wrong Nicki?" Matt came up next to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing, I'm just really tired and want to go home…" She mused.

"I can get someone to take you home if you want… Shane, Phil and me are going to sign autographs with Shan and Jeff…" He noticed Tanya coming down the hall in their direction. "Tiz maybe?" He asked.

"Yeah," She nodded her head, exhausted.

Matt ran up to catch Tanya and asked her, she saw the young woman nod her head vigorously and wave her over. She smiled as Tanya wrapped an arm around her waist in a comforting fashion. Tanya told her she'd be glad to take her home and that if she was ready to go they could leave now.

"I just want to say goodbye to the guys first, and I'll meet you outside?" She offered.

Tanya gave her a wink before she slipped in to Shannon's locker room first. He had just emerged from the shower and was donning nothing but a white towel around his waist. Nicole felt her heart leap out of her chest and noticed the bruises that were forming on his body from the assault.

"Hey, Nicki…" Shannon looked up at her; a dark bruise was forming on his back.

"Hey, I just wanted to say goodbye, Tiz is gonna take me home… I'm really tired." She adverted her eyes away from his body, his muscle were taut, and seemed larger than normal.

"You sure, there was talk of a huge after party at Chuck's?" Shannon stated looking over at her with a grin on his lips.

"Maybe I'll catch up with you guys after I take a nap or something, I'm exhausted…" S he gave him a forced smile, with no intentions whatsoever to go to Chuck's that night.

Shannon was quiet for a second his eyes never left hers, she felt completely uncomfortable under his watchful gaze. She knew that he had seen her, that's what caused his blunder at the end of the match, they both knew it.

"You saw her, didn't you?"

Shannon swallowed taking out a fresh set of clothes from his bag, "Yeah, I saw her," He nodded his head.

"You're not… thinking about getting back with her…" Nicole's voice was low; he could hear her soft footsteps approach him. "Are you?"

"Does it matter?" Shannon asked, his gaze sharp.

Nicole stared at him, her mouth open slightly in shock, "Shannon, after what she did to you?"

"She was my wife, Nicole… my wife… I made vows…" He stated shaking his head. "But my head was so God damned clouded with the thoughts about you, about us… I made a mistake…"

"A mistake?" Nicole shouted. "You made the mistake?" She questioned. "If I remember correctly, Shan… she cheated on YOU!"

"She only cheated on me because of us…" Shannon stated angrily, grabbing the towel tightly around his waist. "She knew that I loved you, she knew that I had never stopped loving you and that ate her up inside…"

"That doesn't give her the get out of jail free card, for Christ's sakes Shannon…" Nicole spat.

"It's my life, Nicole… my fucking life…" He stated angrily.

Nicole clenched her teeth, her jaw set tightly as she let the anger boil down inside of her. She hadn't cared about Crystal and Shannon's relationship before, up until she tore his heart out and cheated on him. She was not one for cheaters, and couldn't stand to be around them.

Especially those who cheated on her friends.

"Fine, Shannon…" Nicole stated heading to the door. "You want another fucking heart break, fine!" She yelled angrily at him. "Don't come crawling to me when she decides to open her fucking legs again when you're on the road…" She opened the door and slammed it behind her.

Resting against the closed door she took a deep breath, her breathing was shallow, her pulse racing. She knew she shouldn't have shouted those things at the blonde, but she couldn't' control her temper sometimes. She couldn't stand to see her friends get hurt.

She knew she had hurt him enough, and now he wanted to try and reconcile with his ex-wife. The same cowardly bitch that took half of his money, and then tried to come back for more, only to try and win him back for another go around.

She wasn't going to keep her mouth shut about that… she wasn't one for holding back. That was unless it pertained to her own personal feelings for a certain rainbow-haired warrior.

But who was she to get in to Shannon's business and meddle?

_His best friend_, she answered.

She pushed off of the door and headed in Jeff's direction. She wanted to go home and soak in her large tub, and not be bothered by the likes of Shannon, or either of the evil exes that were plaguing the area.

She walked in to Jeff's room to see Beth red faced, Jeff red faced and only inches apart. She prayed to God that she had not just interrupted them doing something that she hoped to God they weren't doing. Jeff glared at Beth and she stared over at Nicole.

"Nic," His voice was steady, not showing Beth any emotion. He didn't want to come at her with the normal 'This isn't what it looks like,' line… because anyone who says that… it's exactly what it looks like. And that wasn't the case. The two had just been arguing, getting closer and closer to make their words sting the other person terribly. "Beth… I think you should leave," He turned his attention back to his ex.

"We're not done…" She stated shoving her finger in to his chest.

"We are… we're done." He stated casually as Beth puffed her cheeks out angrily and glared in Nicole's direction.

"This is all your fuckin' fault, Nicole… I swear to God…" She huffed walking towards the door. "You ruined every fuckin' thing…"

Beth marched out of the room and Nicole stared over at Jeff, wondering what had gone down between the old lovers. What had caused Beth to be so hateful towards her, not that she hadn't been before, but still. In front of Jeff, Beth liked to play the sweet-innocent person, and make everything look like it was Nicole's fault.

"I'm sorry," Jeff muttered. "She came in here as soon as I got out of the shower, and we started to yell and scream…" He pulled at his hair. His thoughts were going a mile a minute, and realized that he had been in here with Beth screaming and yelling for at least fifteen minutes, if not longer. "Where have you been?"

"I went to get something to drink, and decided I wanted to go home, because I'm wiped out…" She sighed. "Then I ran in to Matt and told him, he asked Tizzie if she'd take me home, and she agreed… so I went to say goodbye to Shannon… and we got in to a huge screaming match about Crystal,"

"What about her?" Jeff asked curiously, a pang of jealousy went through his bloodstream.

"She was here, that's what caught his attention, distracted him… and could've gotten him seriously injured…" Nicole raved.

"Calm down," Jeff grabbed her by her biceps.

"Well then I asked him if he saw her, and he said yes of course… we both knew it…" She growled. "I asked him if he was thinking about getting back with her… and he was quiet… he was thinking about it for Christ's sakes, Jeff…" She yelled.

Jeff's jaw clenched, he wasn't sure what bothered him more the fact that Shannon was considering this, or the fact that it bothered Nicole so much. He knew it was her best friend instinct's kicking in, but he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.

"So we got in to it about that, and now I'm even more drained than I was before and I just want to go home and soak in a nice, hot bath…" She whispered softly falling in to his arms.

Jeff hugged her tightly, placing a kiss on her temple.

"Go ahead and go home, I'll finish up here as quick as I can and come take care of you, ok?" He asked pulling her away at arms length.

Nicole didn't say anything just nodded her head, feeling those strong arms around her made her entire body relax, just a notch. She wanted to go home and relax, get her mind off of everything Shannon, and everything Jeff.

It was time to focus on herself for once, to take care of her.

* * *

**More drama... you know it had to spark up... I had to get Shannon's interest in her distracted somehow... why not bring in the ex-wife? Right? ... Anywho... you know what to do... REVIEW!**

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	16. Rebuild, Restart

**A/N: **Just a simple filler chapter, I think I let my muses rest for too long. Hopefully I'll get my inspirational juices flowing again somehow... oh I know how... you can REVIEW... ;)

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**Chapter 16  
**_**R**__ebuild, Restart_

The bath had helped out initially, but once Nicole pulled herself out of the hot water and in to a terry cloth rob all of her previous thoughts came rushing back to her. She sighed to herself. Why did things have to be so complicated?

Everything had finally worked out and then she had to go and pick another fight with Shannon. Nicole couldn't shake her initial feeling she had when she noticed Crystal was there, and then when she knew Shannon saw her. It killed her.

She had never really cared for Crystal, she knew from the start that Crystal was looking to get ahead by marrying a WWE Superstar. She was an aspiring singer; Nicole saw it right away, but not Shannon. Shannon was fooled.

_Hell, he was still fooled_, she thought to herself.

"You're going to implode,"

Her head snapped up to the front door and she smiled seeing Jeff walk in looking tired. Very tired.

"What are you thinkin' so hard about?" He asked placing his set of keys on the table.

"What do you think?" She asked him as he took a seat on the couch, dropping his duffle bag on the ground.

"Shan?" Jeff questioned.

"Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner…" She mocked sarcastically.

"He was in a pretty foul mood at Chuck's…" Jeff reported.

"He should be, he was an asshole to me…"

Jeff sighed and pulled her in to his arms, "I'm sorry our best friend is such a jerk…"

"Yeah, a jerk that's my boss nonetheless." She muttered in to his chest.

Jeff sighed and pulled her in to his lap, kissing her temple, "All you need is a good night's sleep. I'll put you to bed…" He scooped her up and pushed his way off of the couch, heading in the direction of her bedroom.

Nicole didn't fight him, she was tired, and she was ready to call it a night. Her head was killing her from all of her thoughts running a marathon in her head, all night long. She gladly accepted the free ride in to her room, and let out a low giggle as Jeff tossed her on to the bed.

Jeff laughed, Nicole smirked scooting under the covers of the unmade bed, "Goodnight," She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"What kind of goodnight kiss is that?" He asked sitting on the edge of her bed.

"A tired one," She responded closing her eyes, playing with Jeff.

"Get over here," His fingers encircled her biceps and pulled her in to a meaningful kiss.

Nicole literally melted in to his arms. She pulled back from him, enough to get a good look in to those amazingly green eyes.

"G'night…" He whispered placing a chaste kiss on her pink lips.

"Night…" She mumbled watching him leave her room.

The sound of her blender going off woke her up before her alarm decided to do so. She lazily got out of bed, wrapping herself in to her robe she found the kitchen was full of people. She rubbed her eyes and stared at Jeff who was happily distributing her smoothies out to the other Carolinians and one not-so Carolinian.

"What the hell are they doing here?" She mumbled tiredly taking the glass Matt handed her.

"We're just hangin' out today," Jeff stated shrugging his shoulders with a sly grin on his face.

"Right and I'm Mother Theresa…" She bit her bottom lip, holding on to her robe tightly with her free hand.

"It's good to see you too, Nicki…" Shane grinned gulping down the rest of his drink.

"These are pretty damn good, Jeff…" Phil stated as he glanced over at Nicole and smiled.

"Nic has one every mornin' for breakfast…"

"It keeps me healthy…" Nicole shrugged leaning against her counter, a little more comfortable around the men that were all invading her house, and her kitchen.

"You workin' today?" The tattooed Chicago native asked her out of the blue.

Nicole looked up at him, her eyes meeting his for a half a second before she looked away and nodded. Phil raised an eyebrow and Matt leaned over and whispered something to him. His face fell and he gave her a silent apology.

"I should get ready… or I'll be late…" She smiled drinking the rest of her drink.

Jeff grabbed her elbow just as she was leaving the kitchen and placed a rough kiss on her lips. Nicole couldn't help but smile as she literally skipped her way in to her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Another argument?" Phil asked looking from Matt to Shane. Jeff walked back in and answered for them. "But why?"

"Crystal," Shane sighed.

"Isn't that his…"

"Ex-wife… yeah…" Matt gnawed on his bottom lip restlessly. "That's what had him so distracted yesterday when Jeff took him out,"

"Shannon and Nicole got in to a huge fight afterwards about her…" Jeff ran a hand through his blue hair and sighed. "Crystal was after fame… and she cheated on Shannon and he caught her in the act… and apparently he's thinkin' about givin' her another shot…"

"Nicole went ape-shit…" Matt laughed at the thought. "She was so worked up. She was there for him when he came to her… completely unraveled."

"That's pretty fucked up…" Phil muttered. "But, she can't really control who he dates… or what he does… that's on Shan…"

Nicole made it to work with time to spare, she had a few short conversations with the WWE Superstars that littered her house that morning, and they were making her late for work. Though she really wasn't looking forward to the day ahead of her.

She entered just as Shannon was walking up to the front desk; he looked at her briefly but didn't say anything. Nicole let out a low huff before hauling her things in to her room. She started to shift things around and ignored the looks that Chad and Shane were sending her when she turned around.

"Nicole,"

Nicole stood straight up, her back stiffening as her name; her full name came out of his mouth. He barely ever called her Nicole unless he was being really serious, or was pissed. She turned around to see him standing in her doorway.

"Shannon,"

She returned the favor, as his jaw set tightly, his arms folded over his chest. He took a deep breath before he continued.

"You're ten o'clock called, he wants to reschedule."

"Thank you," She stated shortly before picking up the phone in her room and dialing the number by heart. Her ten o'clock was someone that she had tattooed on quite a few occasions.

Shannon stood in her doorway while she made the call. She greeted the customer by name, and offered him a new time slot glancing at the hanging calendar on her wall. He felt his nose twitch as a bright smile found its way on to her lips.

"Thanks Ian, I appreciate it… ok… sure… bye…"

Nicole could feel him watching her, and she wanted to turn around and tell him to leave her room, but how could she? It was his shop… she was here because of him.

"Can I help you with anythin' else Mr. Moore?" She asked narrowing her eyes on him, her genuine smile slipping in to a fake forced one

"Drop the act, Nicole…" He urged.

"You started it," She quipped back unloading her machine.

"When we're at the shop, you act civilly, you got it?" He asked her coming in to her room to look her square in the eye.

"Whatever you say, boss…" She stated rolling her eyes.

"I mean it Nicole; I don't want everyone in this shop in our personal business…"

Nicole looked at him, hurt reflecting in her eyes. She had hurt him last week, was it his time to do the same to her? She sighed and went back to work as Shannon left her office.

It was definitely going to be a long, long day.

Jeff sat around with his brother, Shane and Phil just talking and catching up. He felt so normal. He felt like all the terrible things that he had gone through in the last couple of weeks was all just a dream.

That was until they all stepped outside and he took a look through the woods at where his house used to be. A pang of guilt; a pang of fury, ruptured through his body. Faulty electric line was the cause of the destruction.

What had taken Jack's life… and his home. He sighed and glanced at his friends.

"What's wrong Jeff?" Shane asked taking a sip of his water.

"Just thinkin', man… I need to do something' about this…" He pointed over in the direction of his property.

"I can call the contractor that did my house for you, pull a few strings…" Shane stated squinting his eyes to look over at his good friend.

"That'd be great man," Jeff nodded his head. "I need to rebuild, and restart everything… a new beginnin' of sorts…"

"With Nicole?" Matt asked with a grin.

Jeff looked over at his best friend, his brother. The smile never leaving his face as he simply nodded his head and took a long swig from the water bottle in his hand.

"Yeah, with Nicole…" He agreed.

* * *

**Awe, yay... what a sweet ending. But damn Shannon, I think he's on his period... definitely PMSing. Rawr... **

**R E V I E W **


	17. Make it Better

**A/N: **I've gotten such a great response on this story. But it's winding down now. Yay, finally. Anywho, thank you all for the support I truly appreciate it!

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**Chapter 17**_**  
M**__ake it Better_

She felt like she had been down this road one too many times, and it was starting to become quite a nuisance. She didn't like fighting with Shannon, quite the opposite actually, she loathed it. But it didn't seem like anything was getting better right now. It seemed to be getting worse.

He'd barely look at her, barely talk to her for the last couple of days and she couldn't take it anymore.

She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts about Shannon that she didn't notice someone coming towards her. A grin adorning his face as he flopped himself on to her chair like a dead fish.

She looked up, jumping in the process.

"Jesus, Phil… give me a heart attack why don't you?" She grinned as he smiled at her.

"How are things?" He asked motioning, with his chin, in Shannon's offices direction.

"Not so great," She shrugged. "He won't talk to me… hell he won't even talk at me…"

"I'm sorry to hear that Nicki…" He apologized.

"What are you apologizing for, you're not the asshole that can seem to get over himself…"

"Ouch, I'm glad I'm not…"

Nicole grinned seeing the faces that Phil was making. As if she had wounded him personally with her words. He got off of her bench and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm leaving, going back on the road… so I wanted to come by and saw goodbye before I left…"

"That was sweet of you,"

"I try…" He gave her a wide grin.

"You know, I've been thinking about what you said before…"She scraped her hand through her hair and looked around the tattoo parlor hoping there wasn't anyone straining to hear their conversation. "I've been really thinking about it…"

"I knew you'd see it my way…" He grinned, that joking twinkle in his eye. "You've fallen madly in love with me and you want me to whisk you away to Chicago…"

Nicole started laughing and shaking her head, "You're incredible."

"I know,"

He pretended to mockingly fan himself, pushing his hair back as he did so. Nicole grinned and rested back against her desk.

"I mean about the wrestling thing," She stated pursing her lips together.

Phil nodded his head, knowing what she meant. He crossed his arms over his chest and she explained to him that she had been thinking about it ever since he said it to her.

"Have you said anything to the Hardys about it?" Phil asked carefully.

"Not really…." She replied biting her bottom lip. "I'm not really sure how they'd take that…"

"Or how to bring it up, huh?" Phil read her like a book.

"How do you know me so well and you've only been here for like two weeks?" She inquired.

"It's like a sixth sense or something," Phil stated rolling his eyes with a grin. "Look, just bring it up to them. See how they feel about it… I don't want to steal the Hardys' protégée…"

Nicole laughed and hugged Phil, "Thanks for coming by… I'll hopefully see you again soon?" She asked with a hopeful smile.

"Of course, and you've got my number if you ever want to talk… or need an unbiased, non-Carolinian view of things…" He grinned.

"Of course, thanks again Phil…"

The dark haired man said his goodbyes to her and snuck back to see Shannon. She didn't bother to snoop around, she knew that Phil was just saying goodbye and probably giving Shan a few choice words about treating her the way he had been.

It was nice to have people looking out for you; even if it was nearly impossible from keeping yourself from jumping their bones.

xxx

Jeff sat staring at the second place setting that he put down. He had started the initial plans for his new home, and had been going to the gym once to twice a day to get back in shape. He was going to turn his life around, and he wanted to start out new… brand new.

With Nicole.

He had decided to tell her about his plans for the new house and his plans for his new life… or he should say their new life together.

"What smells so great?" Her voice flooded his ears and he instinctively got up and welcomed her at the opening of the kitchen.

"Lasagna," He told her with a small smile. "Homemade…"

Nicole placed her things down and looked at Jeff with a warm smile on her face, all the thoughts that had been on her mind before were washed away with the lingering aroma of the Italian food. She didn't want to think about Shannon, or Phil… or wrestling right now. She wanted to sit and enjoy this wonderful meal.

"Were you a chef in a former life?" She asked jokingly as he pulled out her chair for her.

"Maybe an incredible husband…" He shrugged his shoulders and Nicole looked up at him quickly.

Had he meant something by it? She felt a wave of emotion wash over her as he took the seat next to her, giving her a small smile as he served her first. Nicole inspected the piece of lasagna and felt a smile tug at her lips, and a familiar tingle in her nose.

"Ruby's?" She whispered looking up at him.

When Jeff cooked lasagna it was usually frozen, or if he made 'homemade' he would use jar sauce. Not this time. He had put in the extreme effort by not only making it from scratch, but by using his mother's own recipe. Something that she never thought he would do.

He simply nodded and offered her a glass of red wine.

"Amazing," She whispered shortly after eating her last piece of lasagna, she took a sip of the red wine and smiled at Jeff who placed his glass of water down. She noticed his wine glass didn't have wine in it and she raised an eyebrow.

"You're not drinking?" She asked him.

"No," He shook his head.

"Why not?" She questioned him, raising an eyebrow as she waited for the answer.

"Because it's not in my plan," Jeff stated as he inched closer towards her.

"Really?" She asked him, her eyebrow arching up even more intrigued by this answer. "What exactly is in this plan of yours?"

"A mixture of no drugs, no alcohol, balanced diet, two-to-four hours in the gym every other day…" He shrugged his shoulders and pulled something out from under the table, "Brand new house…" He grinned handing her the plans.

"Oh my God," She pulled open the plans, eyes wide as she reached over and pulled him in to a huge hug. "This is fantastic…"

"I thought so," He grinned.

"So," She gave him a small smile. "What else is in this plan?"

Jeff grinned; he reached over, pulling her out of her chair as he stood up. Nicole let out a squeak as she wrapped her legs around his middle, and smirked down at him.

"What are you doing?" She asked him as he started walking towards her bedroom.

"I'm going to show you what else is in my plan," He smiled pulling her in for a long, agonizing kiss. She felt her insides flip at the feeling of those amazingly soft lips on hers. "I want you,"

"I want you, too…" She breathed heavily.

"No, I really… really want you… Nicole…" He stated tossing her on to her King Size bed.

She was about to counter him when he pressed his lips against hers, maneuvering himself on top of her as he deepened the kiss. He pulled away and looked down at her, his green eyes burning with desire as he cupped her face in his hands.

"I want to be with you," His voice was smooth and endearing.

Nicole looked up at him, her eyes searching his, "Jeff… I don't think that it's the right time…" She sat up a bit, not wanting to take this any further. "It's something we really need to think about,"

"I have thought about it, non-stop for the last several weeks… hell even before Beth and I were over." He shook his head resting his body forward. "I'm tired of thinking about it… I don't want it planned out." He breathed getting closer to her. "I don't want to think about it, analyze it… nothing…"

"But Jeff, there are so many components to this… we can't just do it…" She stated pursing her lips together.

"Don't think… Nicole…" He pressed his lips to hers quickly. "Just tell me what you want," He stated staring her in the eye. "No more thinking, no more over-analyzing everything… just say the first thing that comes to mind when I ask you what you want…"

"You,"

It slipped off her tongue so easily; without a second thought, or an analysis about what she was going to say. Jeff grinned wildly as he pulled her to him, capturing her lips again in a tantalizing kiss that caused Nicole's entire body to erupt with pleasure.

The follow day Nicole decided that she had to settle things with Shannon. She had to go over to his house and force him to talk to her. Force him to tell her exactly what was on his mind and why he was mad at her. She had thought they settled everything, but seeing Crystal again made them both jump at each others throats.

She kissed Jeff goodbye and smiled as he watched her leave, not feeling at all intimidated about where she was going. Or why she was going there. He didn't have to worry about that anymore because last night, she had become his and he had become hers.

And that was all there was to it.

Nicole drove the distance from Cameron to Whispering Pines. She pulled up in to a driveway of a large house and smiled remembering the many parties they had there. Good times.

She walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell waiting for him to answer. His Hummer was sitting there, she knew he was home, unless he took out his other car, but she doubted it. He barely ever took out his muscle car, only on rare occasion.

The door slipped open and his handsome face looked somber as he stared at her, waiting for her to say something. He hadn't even bothered with a greeting.

"Shannon, we need to talk," Her words were rushed and to the point.

He moved out of the way and let her come in to his home, but still said nothing. She rolled her eyes at his childish ways and he shut the door walking straight in to the kitchen. She followed him and he grabbed himself a bottle of water from the fridge and offered her one, silently.

She accepted and took a swig; her mouth was too dry for some reason. Shannon leaned against the counter and she stared at him.

"We've got to resolve this Shannon, I'm sick of the silent treatment…" She stated levelly.

Shannon was quiet for a minute and then he cracked a smile as he started laughing. Nicole stared at him in complete disbelief trying to figure out why he had all of a sudden burst out in to hysterics. Shannon laughed by himself for several more seconds before calming down.

"What's so funny?" She asked getting annoyed.

Shannon smiled and walked over to her pulling her in to a hug, "I don't even remember why I'm mad at you…" He grinned as she pulled away and beat her fists in to his chest.

"You asshole," She barked angrily.

Shannon grinned and pulled her close against him, "I'm sorry for what I said Wednesday… I didn't mean it…" He whispered to her, taking in the scent of her hair.

"Yes, you did… or you wouldn't have said it…" She stated somberly looking at him with a pathetic pout.

"Ok, maybe I meant some of it… but I shouldn't have insinuated that it was your fault… because it's not… Nicki…" She could see that he meant what he said. "Seein' her in the crowd just brought back all of these emotions, all the torrid feelings I've had for her… and everythin' just came rushin; to me…" He swallowed hard. "I took it out on the wrong person…"

"It's ok…" She smiled glad to hear him talking some sense.

"I guess I've just been so fucked up lately that I haven't really noticed how much I hurt you with my words… and I shoulda never did that… and I'm sorry…"

"It's good… as long as we're good…" She stated motioning between them.

"We're better than good…" He grinned hugging her again.

* * *

**You know what this means... R E V I E W!! :)**


	18. For Us

**A/N: **Another one that is winding down to the end. Only two more chapters after this. And we're done. Wow... Mmm... I love Jeffie... don't you? Anywho, thank you for the reviews as always, and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 18**_**  
F**__or Us_

By the same time the following week all the members of the WWE Roster were back on the road again, all except for, of course, Jeff. He was happily basking in the after glow of a relationship. He had talk to Shannon about him and Nicole and the blonde seemed on board, which to Jeff and Nicole was a blessing.

Jeff had several meetings with the contractor that had built Shane's house and Nicole was back on her normal schedule at the shop. She was opening every other day and closing the days she didn't open. Keeping herself very busy, but still maintaining enough time during the week to spend with Jeff.

The two were soundly sitting in the living room, Jeff writing in his journal, which was part of his new 'plan' and Nicole curled up in his side reading a thriller-romance novel by Lisa Jackson. Nicole found herself lost in the book and didn't pull herself out of it until Jeff grabbed her attention.

"I was thinkin' of going to the ring tomorrow, do you wanna come?" He asked her for the second time.

Her eyes lit up and she nodded her head, "I'd love to go…" She grinned.

Jeff looked at her questioningly for a moment but didn't push further as he put his pen to the paper and started writing again. Nicole felt her insides warm not being able to find herself engrossing back in the book.

The next morning Jeff was up early making their smoothies and ready to take on the world. She had noticed that he had been up, and keeping himself busy ever since he got back on the right track. She pulled herself out of bed and remembered what they were doing that day, and it seemed to send an extra surge of energy through her veins.

She bounded in to the kitchen and Jeff smiled seeing her in such an incredible mood, "What has gotten in to you this mornin'?" He asked slipping a simple kiss on to her lips.

"Mmm," She smiled against his plump lips, resting her hands on her hips, "I'm just excited… I haven't been in the ring in a long time…"

"Think you still got it?" He questioned.

"I don't know… maybe… maybe not, I guess we'll see…" She took the smoothie and filled the two empty cups to the rim.

Jeff took one as did she and they drank in silence.

Within thirty minutes the pair was dressed and ready to go in to town. They went to the local gym and started with some cardio, and then some simple weight training. After they were loosened up; adrenaline pumping they entered the boxing ring, which would have to suit them for now.

"You want to go over the basics, as a refresher?" Jeff asked.

Nicole smiled and simply nodded her head as they went over how to take a proper jump, when to execute certain moves and started getting in to a bit of actual wrestling. Nicole was having an amazing time when they decided to take a break.

"So, I was talking to Phil…" She started off looking down at her chipping fingernail polish.

"Ok…" Jeff's brow knitted together in slight confusion.

"And when you and Shan did your match, I explained to him why you were doing it, about us growing up and everything…" She cleared her throat. "And he asked if I used to wrestle, and I told him I did… back in the Omega days… and he asked what happened…" She gave her boyfriend a small smile. "I told him about my parents, and he understood, and he told me if I was ever interested in getting back in to it… he'd help me out…"

"Are you tryin' to tell me that you want to start training again?"

"In so-many words… yes…" She replied.

He was silent for a minute, absorbing the information.

"And I was thinking, since you're still out for a couple more weeks that maybe we could train… like on a regular basis…" She pursed her lips together. "If you think it's an OK idea…"

She watched him; he looked up at the ceiling, lips puckered and a thoughtful look on his face. She felt her heart drop, he didn't think it was a good idea; he didn't want her to pursue it. She was about to say something else when he looked back at her with a wicked grin on his face.

"I think that's a great idea," He stated.

"God, I thought you were going to shoot down my idea…" She paused letting out a sigh of relief.

"C'mon baby… when have I ever shot down anythin' you've ever said to me?" He questioned. She raised an eyebrow and he choked, "Ok, aside from those times… I was at my weakest point…"

She smiled and nodded, "So you think it could work out?" She asked.

"Do you really wanna do this?" Jeff asked her calmly.

"I do, I love tattooing… no doubt about that… but wrestling was always my first passion, and I lost sight of that after everything that happened back then…" She smiled thinking of her days back in OMEGA. "After my parents passed away I didn't want anything to do with that… but now… now I'm in a new chapter and that's what I want…"

"Then I say go for it…" He grinned.

"My ultimate goal would be being able to get a contract with WWE, and travel with you…" She grinned kissing his cheek.

Jeff grinned like a maniac and pulled her in to his arms, "I'm all for that goal…" He stated pressing his lips to her temple. "Now, there is no time to waste…" He stated climbing back in to the ring. "I can't go easy on you now…" He laughed.

Nicole grinned and the two started to spar in the ring, they were getting in to it, and Jeff speared her, taking her down to the ground and staying there. He hovered over her, placing kisses all over her. She let out a huge round of laughter and swatted him away.

"What are you doing, that's not a wrestling move…" She stated as he captured her mouth with his.

Jeff pulled away, "It's the Kissin' Submission…" He laughed with her.

She grinned and sat up, the door to the boxing ring opened and a slightly familiar face walked in to the room. Nicole felt her heart drop as Jeff stared at the man. She grabbed his arm as he stood up, helping herself up with his strength.

"What's he doing here?" She asked stunned to see him.

"Uh-I'm not sure… let me go talk to him…" Jeff stated running a hand through his bright blue hair.

Nicole leaned against the ropes as she watched Jeff walk over to the man, weary. Nicole hoped that she never had to see this man again; he was the one that was fueling Jeff's addiction before. The one that had helped him succumb to his need, and she had watched Jeff delete all his contact information from his phone, his planners, his email… everything.

She watched as the two talked for a bit, and Jeff gave the man a handshake before he slowly walked back over to Nicole, who immediately got on the defensive.

"What did he want?" She asked sharply.

"He wanted to talk…" Jeff stated looking up at her, those jade green eyes staring up at her shortly.

"Jeff, please tell me you're done with him…" She stared at him. Jeff started to say something but she cut him off, "I can't do this Jeff, I can't…" She watched as he climbed up on to the ring apron and she grabbed his wife beater and looked at him hurt. "I won't watch you throw away you're career… or us…" She stated forcefully.

Jeff smiled at her, pulling her face in to his hands he looked her right in the eye, without hesitation, "I'm done with him, Nicole. I told him that. I'm not gonna stray away from my plan… from our plan. I have no intentions what so ever to go back to that. I want this life more than ever now… I want this career, I want a new life… and I'm doing this for me… for you… For Us…"

* * *

**Awe, yay... happy ending for the chapter... nothing but happy endings... sad endings are evil. REVIEW**


	19. I Love You

**A/N: **Don't fret, we still have this chapter and one other to go. 20 Chapters total for Take Me Under. I hope you enjoy this and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! I really appreciate everyone's support and feedback on this story... and thanks to Cara for the wonderful inspiration!

* * *

**Chapter 19**_**  
I**__ Love You_

After that day, Nicole and Jeff's relationship seemed to be stronger than it ever had been; as friends, as lovers, as a couple. The weeks had seemingly flown by and Jeff's suspension was nearing its end. Jeff would be taking a few tests and getting a physical under the supervision of one of the Talent Scouts for the WWE.

Word had gotten around the WWE locker room that Jeff's new girl was thinking about getting back in the business, via Matt Hardy, Phil Brooks and Shannon Moore. Word had reached Jim Ross, Stephanie and Vince McMahon making their creative juices start flowing.

They had spoken with Jeff, and he had put in some good words with them for her. He hadn't told Nicole of their plans; he wanted to surprise her.

She had joined an Indy crew in North Carolina and was doing some shows on the weekends, and keeping Jeff Entertained as he waited out the rest of his suspension.

"Why did you sign me up for this?" She pouted looking at her boyfriend of a little over a month. "It was supposed to be my weekend off to relax and have fun…"

Jeff shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think you need any time off… you just need to keep practicing…"

"Thanks for the faith babe… I appreciate it…" She snickered warming up for her match.

"I always have faith in you; I just don't want you to get all rusty again…" He smirked flipping through a magazine, though really not paying attention to the words that were written on the pages. Nicole bent forward and Jeff put the magazine down, taking in the view before him, "This is the best view in the house…"

She looked between her legs and smirked, standing back up straight, "You're a perv,"

"You love it…" It grinned to her.

"I know," She sighed hopelessly.

"Excuse me, Nicole…" A voice came from the other side of the door.

She got up and opened the door to see the dark haired girl she'd be wrestling that night, "Cassidy, hey… how you doing?" She asked with a small grin.

"They're askin' for us…" She nodded her head in the direction of a small crowded area.

"Great, thanks…" She grinned turning back to her boyfriend. "Your time is up, my time is now…" She mimicked the rhythm and sound of John Cena's entrance music.

"What are you a secret member of the Chain Gang?" He asked mockingly following her out to the crowd.

"Somethin' like that…" She grinned.

Jeff smiled as he pulled her in to a tight hug, "I'm gonna get out there, but good luck and be careful ok?" He kissed her hard on the mouth as he disappeared out of the side curtain and in to the crowd.

Cassidy smiled at her and grabbed her hand, "Good luck out there…" She grinned. "I heard there are some talent scouts out there…" She whispered to her.

"Yeah?" Nicole asked raising an eyebrow. "TNA?" She asked thoughtfully.

"WWE, the real deal…" She grinned hopefully.

Nicole thought for a second, letting the three letters settle in her mind. It hit her, the reason Jeff pushed her to come tonight, to wrestle. She felt her nerves immediately kick in and started to shake out her limbs. She wasn't going to let this get to her.

No way, she was going to play hardball.

Go big, or go home.

She came back exhausted from her match, coming out on top with a cradled pin. She was greeted backstage by several of the promoters who were praising her for a job well done. Cassidy came back giving her a hug and congratulations.

She waited patiently as Jeff moseyed on back to meet her. He scooped her up in his arms and held her there for a few seconds. He placed a kiss on her lips and set her back down on her feet, that's when she punched him in the arm.

"Ow, what the hell was that for?" He asked rubbing his sore arm.

"You set that up, didn't you?" She asked pointing to the audience.

"Whatever are you talkin' 'bout babe?" His eyes gave off that 'not so innocent' look.

"The fact that one of the WWE Talent Scouts was here… sitting right next to you!" She pointed out.

"Ok, maybe you're right… maybe I shouldn't have made it so obvious… but come on… you were amazin'…"

"He's right you know…" A voice came from behind them.

Nicole turned around to see the guy that was standing next to Jeff walk in through the curtain. She stared at him in complete awe. He had just agreed that she was amazing. Her life was now complete.

"I got some of it on tape, and I'm going to meet with JR and a few others… but I think there is some serious potential here…" He pointed out smiling at Jeff. "I'll be in touch," He gave her a slight nod. "Jeff, I will see you tomorrow?" He questioned.

"Definitely Elliott, thanks…" He slapped him on the shoulder.

After the man left, Nicole jumped in to Jeff's awaiting arms. She molested his face with kisses and he couldn't help but laugh at her antics. Two minutes ago she was chastising him for it and now she was mauling him with affection.

"You're a schizo…" He grinned walking with her back to her lockers.

"But you love it…" She replied.

It had barely been a week since her match against Cassidy when Nicole got the phone call from WWE. They were very interested in her; they wanted her to join their new development group in Florida in two weeks. She was completely ecstatic. She was screaming and jumping around as Jeff walked through the door.

"Babe, what's going on?" He questioned setting a bag of groceries down on the counter.

"Elliott just called me, they're offering me a development contract with the company," She grinned. "They want me in Florida in two weeks…" She smiled and hugged him closely.

"That's amazing… I told you; you could do it…" He scooped her up and she pulled away.

"And he told me to tell you that you're script should be here in a couple of days…" She grinned. "You come back on May 12 edition of Raw…"

"I think this is by far the best day of our lives…" He stated with a huge grin on his face.

"I would have to agree whole-heartedly."

Jeff scooped her up again, this time she wrapped her legs around his slender waist and Jeff maneuvered her on to the counter, grinding his hips against hers. She grinned and returned the favor, that was until the phone rang interrupting them.

"Let it ring," He instructed pulling off her t-shirt.

She was going to do just that until Shannon's voice came over the answering machine, "Fuck… I've got to tell Shan…" She remembered grabbing the phone.

"Why?" Jeff whined as she answered Shannon before he hung up.

"Hey Shan, guess what…"

Jeff rolled his eyes as she went in to a long spiel about what happened. He rested his elbows on the counter, leaving lingering kisses on her exposed stomach. She wiggled under his mouth and he grinned unbuckling her belt and sliding off her jeans.

She swatted him away as he played with the top of her panties, rubbing his fingers over the lacey material. She shuddered visibly and continued talking while beating him in the arm.

Jeff only grinned more as he slipped her panties to the side, letting two fingers enter her. Her entire body jerked forward as he grinned up at her evilly. She gave him a death glare as his fingers started to move quickly.

"Oh, Shannon…" She exhaled deeply. "On top of all-all… that…" She stuttered her eyes closing as the pleasure coursed through her entire body. "I have to resign my p-p-position at Gas-Gas Chamber," She held back a moan by biting her lip.

Jeff had removed her panties with his teeth, his fingers never stopping as his tongue flicked over her. She felt her body jolt again as he could literally hear Shannon on the phone laughing.

"Oh-ok… I really-really gotta go…" She rushed and hung up, tossing the phone on the counter as her hands tangled themselves in to his blue hair.

"So the developer called," Nicole glanced at Jeff taking a spoonful of ice cream in to her mouth. Jeff looked at her an eyebrow arched perfectly up at her. "He said that they'll start construction next week,"

"That's great news," He grinned. "So did you tell all of your customers about your future job?"

"Most of them," She shrugged giving him a grin as she took her bowl and walked over to him, "They all seem pretty excited for me…"

"They should be…" He stated kissing her lips quickly.

"Mmm," She nodded her mouth full with another scoop of ice cream. "What's you're script like?" She asked with a small grin.

"The big return," He snorted stealing a bite of her ice cream, she swatted his hands away grabbing his script.

"So you come out, I'm sure you'll get a huge pop…" She read over. "You apologize and star explaining what happens, when bam… Mr. William "I've got the Queens Crown shoved up my ass'" Regal shuts off your mic, and then you have to face…" Her face dropped. "Umaga?"

"Yeah, pretty much…" He smirked stealing another scoop of her ice cream as she gawked at the script. "But I win,"

"That's good… so did you call Creative like they asked to see what was going on next?"

"Pretty much I'm supposed to get pushed a bit… like I was before all this happened…" He lifted his shoulders. "But it's the WWE things can change in the blink of an eye…"

"Tell me about it," She grinned putting the script down.

"I'm glad we're together," Jeff stated taking the bowl from her and setting it on the counter. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Me too,"

"Really, really glad…" He pushed her back against the corner.

Nicole suppressed a laugh as she nodded her head in agreement.

"I love you, Nic…" His words were soft and sincere, t hey literally warmed Nicole to the core as she looked up at him with large brown eyes. Her favorite pair of green eyes staring straight back at her.

"I love you too, Jeff…"

* * *

**Mush... Mush is good... Mush is sexy... Jeff is sexy... so Mush+Jeff SUPERSEXY!! Wooohoo... Don't ask. Seriously. I'm having some shizo like qualities today... :-D Maybe it's the fact that I've been working since 5:30 this morning like the labor donkey they make me out to be sometimes here at work...**

**Anyway... REVIEW!! (pretty please!)**


	20. Take Me Under

**A/N: **Ok, so the finally chapter is here. Wow... I'm really cranking out these stories... it feels good. I kind of left this one open a little bit... This chapter has surprises in it. Nothing huge, but hey... I think they are.

* * *

**Chapter 20**_**  
T**__akin__**g **__Me Under_

_Six Months Later_

Time had flown by so quickly that Nicole barely had time to breath. She had been training like a fiend with the FCW, to get in shape and be ready for whatever the WWE was going to throw at her. Six long months in the making and here she was.

Standing in the Diva's locker room backstage on Monday Night Raw. She grinned. This is what she had been dreaming of. Vince had offered her an actual contract, and she had signed the contract without a second thought.

After a month of preparation for her storyline, she was ready to take the WWE by storm, and she wasn't going to do it alone. She was doing it along side her boyfriend, Jeff Hardy.

"Nic," The dark haired girl looked up at her name being said. She smiled at the woman, Mickie James had welcomed her to Raw with a warm smile and hug and the two had hit it off from the beginning.

"What's up Mick?" She asked.

"Lover boy is at the door for you…" She grinned. "Looking mighty scrumptious, might I add…" She winked at her friend.

"Thanks," She fixed her boot and walked to the door, opening it to see Jeff standing there leaning against the door frame. A small smile crept across her face as he leaned down and kissed her slowly.

"You excited?" He asked pulling away slightly.

"You have no idea," She grinned happy that she would be tossed in to his storyline; doing a run in to take out Katie Lea who would try a 'sneak' attack on her boyfriend.

"So, I have a couple of people here that wanted to surprise you…" He stated lifting his chin over his shoulder.

She glanced passed him and noticed several very familiar faces. She squealed with delight and ran over to the group, throwing herself at them. Jeff laughed as she went from each Carolinian to the next, and finally hugging the Chicago Native that had joined them.

"Babe," Jeff cleared his throat.

Nicole turned around and looked at him, "What?" She was confused.

Jeff's gaze went from her face to her chest, and she glanced down… she smirked. The first night on the job and she was running around in her bra and lycra wrestling pants. She grinned holding up a finger to the group as she ran in to the locker room and tossed on a shirt.

She came back out and Mickie joined the group, she had started hanging out with Nicole and Jeff a lot, and Nicole thought that she might have noticed some sparks between Mickie James and her very own Shannon Moore.

They entered catering where Mickie took a seat between Shannon and Shane, Phil pulled up a chair on the end, and Nicole sat between her two favorite brothers. They all chatted and were having a good time until Jeff stood up abruptly.

"Jeff, what's wrong?" Nicole asked as he glanced down at her, his face unreadable.

"Yo, Jeff man… what's going on?" Matt asked playing along.

Jeff looked around the room and noticed that a good portion of the roster was hanging out in catering; he cleared his throat, "Excuse me…" The catering room got quiet as Jeff smiled at everyone. "Can I get everyone's attention please?" Nicole noticed that he had it and he looked down at her and then back up at everyone else. "There's somethin' that I need to ask, Nicole…"

Nicole's heart skipped a beat as his hands slipped in to his pockets; the rainbow haired man got down on his knee and his hand pulled out a piece of jewelry. Jeff looked up at her, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Nicole Delaney, will you marry me?" He asked holding out the ring, that he held in his hand.

Nicole felt her stomach rise to her throat; she choked back the tears that threatened to fall as she stared at Jeff. He had just proposed; something she never thought she would see Jeff Hardy do. She swallowed hard her eyes darting up to meet Mickie's who were bright and her smile was almost as big as Nicole's. Then to Shannon who was smirking like a little devil.

Shane, Phil and Matt all had the same look on their faces and she turned back to Jeff who was giving her a loving look. She couldn't form any words, so all she could do was nod her head.

Tears began to stream from her eyes Jeff slipped the ring on to her finger. He pulled her out of her seat and in to a long kiss as the entire catering area erupted in to cheers and applause.

-

Nicole still couldn't grasp it. She sat staring in the women's locker room staring down at the pear shaped Emerald ring with diamond accents all around it. She felt her stomach flutter just looking at the magnificent piece of jewelry.

"Congratulations, Nicki…" Melina Perez smiled at her slapping her hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks Mel," She grinned sitting back with a sigh. "It's unreal,"

"Who would have ever thought Jeff Hardy would settle down?" Another voice chimed from the door.

Nicole's head snapped up, her eyes went wide recognizing the voice immediately. She got up and literally jumped in to the woman's arms without any warning. It had been a while since she had seen the red head and she couldn't be happier.

"Amy, what are you doing here?" She asked after they exchanged greetings.

"C'mon… Nicole Delaney is debutin' on Raw and puttin' the lock and key on Jeff Hardy, I wouldn't miss it for the world…" She grinned taking her friend's hand in hers and inspecting the ring on her finger. "Totally Jeff…" She grinned.

"My eclectic man…" She grinned as the two sat down. "How'd you find out?"

"Matt," Amy replied with a small grin.

Nicole knew that Matt had forgiven her, and that they were on speaking terms again. But she hadn't known to what extent exactly. Amy seemed awfully happy while saying his name.

"Anything I should know?" Nicole raised an arched eyebrow.

"We're takin' it, whatever _it_ is, very slowly…" She smiled, "But enough about me, and my pathetic excuse of a love life… more about you…" She grinned.

-

She was standing at the guerilla watching everything go down on the monitors waiting for her cue to run out and stop Katie Lea Burchill from beating her boyfriend to a pulp from behind. She watched as Katie gave him a few blows and she ran out to the ring.

She could hear King and JR ad libbing as she ran out to the ring to attack Katie Lea. She grabbed the girl by the hair and gave her a Twist of Fate, glaring at Paul Burchill, daring him to step foot in to the ring with her and Jeff Hardy.

Katie rolled out of the ring as Paul helped her back up the ramp. She knelt down by Jeff as he was helping himself up. He stared at her for a second in shock, the camera zooming in on them, reading Jeff's lips.

'What are you doin' here?"

She grinned at him and lifted her chin to the top of the ramp, the two rolled out of the ring and the camera followed them up the ramp and to the backstage area.

"**What the hell are you doing' here Laney?" Jeff's southern drawl made his words rush together.**

"**Apparently savin' your ass, Jeffrey…" She grinned at him, a mischievous glint in her eye.**

"**I told you not to do things like this…" He shook his head. **

"**Oh, c'mon Jeff… aren't you the one that always said 'Live for the Moment'?" She grinned her eyes bright as she stared up at him.**

"**Yeah, but this is dangerous… I'm not sure I want you doin' this…" He pointed to the ground trying to catch his breath. **

"**Listen…" She grabbed his biceps and stared up at him. "I already signed my contract, you can't get rid of me… Hardy…" **

**  
With that she stormed off and Jeff sighed, "Laney! C'mon… Delaney!" He ran a hand through his hair before taking off after the younger girl.**

-

Things had wrapped up for the night, and they were heading to the hotel. The newly engaged couple was now sitting on their king sized bed watching re-runs of 'I Love Lucy', and eating popcorn and soda. Jeff tossed a few pieces of popcorn in the air and caught them in his mouth.

"Hey Jeff," She turned the volume on the TV down.

Jeff glanced down at her and smiled, "What's up babe?" He questioned.

"I have a questions for you…" She glanced down at the beautiful ring on her finger and smiled at him.

"Which is?" He asked her carefully arching an eyebrow up at her.

Nicole smiled kissing him softly, he looked so sexy when he did that, he had no idea. She wrapped her arms around his middle and looked up at him with loving eyes.

"I'm just curious…" She scrunched her nose up.

"Would you stop beatin' around the bush and ask me what you want to ask me already…" He laughed tickling her sides.

"Fine," She laughed pushing his arms away from her sides, "Why haven't you gone back?" Her voice was soft and he had to strain to hear her question.

He hadn't touched nor thought about touching anything in the last six and a half months. He had quickly turned his life around, and he only had one person to thank, and that was the woman that was lying beside him now.

He kissed her forehead.

"Because I had someone there for me when no one else was there; someone who stuck by me even though I was an ass, even though I had almost destroyed everything I had worked for. And that someone believed in me… and made me see that I didn't have to give in to the temptation. I didn't have to let myself fall in to the trap…"

Nicole felt tears stinging her eyes as she pressed her face in to his chest, she kissed the naked flesh and held on to him, "I love you, so much…" She whispered.

"And I love you even more… because you stopped it from takin' me under…"

* * *

**FIN.**

* * *

**Sappy ending; but I love it. So a few things, there is a picture of the general idea for her engagement ring, now in my profile. **

**And the Amy subject... well I like few other people absolutely love Amy... and I will always respect her as a wrestler. I also feel that if Matt is willing to forgive her, so can I... and she's still a cool chick in my book. They always had great chemistry together, so to me... they're the elite wrestling couple; because I heart them.**

**But that's the end. I left some parts open so that I could possibly come back and revisit Nicole and the gang if I choose to do so... so you might get lucky and get another sequel out of me. But, we'll see.**


End file.
